156
 

Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 1/156

 

Page 2: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 2/156

Page 3: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 3/156

ATALANTA FUGIENS THE FLEEING ATALANTA

— or — 

NEW CHYMICAL EMBLEMS OF THE SECRETS OF NATURE— by —

MICHAEL MAIER Count of the Imperial Con ! i ! tory

 M.D., Eq. ex. &c

OPPENHEIM Printed by Hieronymous Gallerus

Publi ! hed by1 Johann Theodor de Bry1618

*** ***** *** 

Michael Maier’s alchemical emblem book Atalanta fugiens was first published in Latin in1617. It was a most amazing book as it incorporated 50 emblems with epigrams and adiscourse, but extended the concept of an emblem book by incorporating 50 pieces ofmusic the ‘fugues’ or canons. In this sense it was an early example of multimedia.

An English translation exists in the British Library MS. Sloane 3645. Clay Holden waskind enough to allow his transcription of emblems 1 to 10, and Hereward Tilton hastranscribed 11 to 34, and Peter Branwin has completed the work by transcribing 35 to 50.

Peter Branwin is currently working on a new translation of the discourses from theoriginal Latin. [There is another English translation in Mellon MS. 48 at Yale in the USA.]

— Adam Maclean.

The text following is for the most part taken from the transcriptions mentioned above, asposted on the Alchemy website; these gave Latin and English mottoes for emblems 1-10,English mottoes only for 11-46 and none at all for the last four. The Latin epigrams wereonly given for 1-10, of which only the first was translated. All the omitted Latin mottoesand epigrams have been restored from the facsimiles published by H. M. de Jong in her

 Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens: Sources of an Alchemical Book of Emblems (Leiden: E.J.Brill, 1969). I have interpolated de Jong’s translation of the mottoes for 47, 49 and 50 andgiven my own translation of 48. I have not yet begun to undertake a translation ofepigrams 2-50.

In the original print edition, each emblem was set out in a consistent format: on a leftpage, the Latin motto, the image below it, the six-line epigram below that; on the facingright page, a German translation of the motto, the musical score (in each case a 3-part

1 lit. “at the expense of”

Page 4: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 4/156

setting of the Latin verse) and a free German translation of the epigram; on the twopages following, the discourse. The present e-text omits the music scores (the onlycopies I have are comparatively low-resolution images from a French translation) andmost of the prefatory matter (which as far as I can tell comprised a dedicatory epistleand a general preface, totalling about 8 quarto pages).

De Jong’s edition of Atalanta includes facsimiles (scaled down from quarto to octavo) ofthe 50 figures with accompanying Latin motto and epigram, translations of the mottoesand epigrams and a summary (i.e. a fairly free and possibly slightly abridged translation,with a few parenthetical glosses) of each discourse. The musical scores, dedication andintroduction are omitted; the frontispiece plate and portrait of the author are retained. Atranslation of the verse preface (“Epigramma Authoris”) appears in the commentary onthe frontispiece.

The emblematic plates were engraved from Maier’s designs by Matthias Merian, whoalso engraved the emblems for the Book of Lambsprinck.

The Scrutinium Chymicum mentioned by Crowley in the “Curriculum of A!A!” was anincomplete 1687 reprint of Atalanta (Secretioris Naturæ Secretorum Scruitinium Chymicum, per oculis et intellectui accurate accommodata, figuris cupro appotissime incisa, ingeniosissimaEmblamata, hisque confines, et ad rem egregie facientes sententias, Doctissimaque itemEpigrammata, illustratum &c. &c. &c. Francofurti, Impensis Georgii Henrici Oehrlingii,Bibliopolæ, Typo Johannis Philippi Andreæ. 4to., viii + 150); the musical scores and some ofthe front-matter were omitted. It seems likely that this version had a larger circulationthan the original; the  Atalanta  was cited under this title by Jung in his writings onpsychology and alchemy, for instance. In 1708 the publisher responsible for ScrutiniumChymicum issued a German translation as Chymisches Cabinet. A facsimile of the originalissue of  Atalanta was published in 1939. In 1986 Joscelyn Godwin prepared an Englishtranslation which included the scores, re-set in modern notation, and sold with a cassetterecording of the music. It was reprinted by Phanes Press in 1991, but Phanes Pressceased trading a few years later and it is now rare. I have not been able to examine acopy, although the references to it I have seen indicate that it omits the discourses.

— T.S.

Page 5: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 5/156

EP I G R A M M A AU T H O R I S .

He! perii precium iuvenis tulit impiger hortiDante Deá pomum Cypride tergeminum:

Idque ! equens fugientis humo glomeravit adoraVirginis, hinc tardas contrahit illa moras:

Mox micat is, micat hæc mox ante fugacior Euris,Alteratum ! pargens aurea dona ! olo,

Ille morabatur ve! tigia lenta puellaeRur! us at hæc rur! us dat ! ua terga fugæ;

Tertia donec amans iterârit pondera, ce!! it

Victori merces hin ATALANTA ! uo.Hippomenes virtus e! t ! ulphuris, illa fugacis

Mercurii, in cur! u femina victa mare e! t.Qui po! tquam cupido ! e complectuntur amore

In fano Cybeles corrigit ira Deam;Pelle leonina vindex & ve! tiit ambos,

In de rubent po! thac corpore, ! untque feri.Huius ut exprimeret ! imulacra ! imillima cur! us

Voce tibi ternâ dat mea Mu! a fugaes:Una manet ! implex pomúmque refert remorans vox,

Altera ! ed fugiens, tertia ritè ! equens.Auribus i! ta tuis, oculí! que Emblemata pro! tent,

At ratio arcanas expetat inde notas:Sen! ibus haec objecta tuli, intellectus ut illis

Illicibus caparet, quæ precio! a latent.Orbis quic quid opum, vel habet Medicina ! alutis,

Omne Leo geminus ! uppeditare pote! t.

Page 6: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 6/156

TH E AU T H O R ’S EP I G R A M .[Explanation of Fronti! piece]

Three Golden Apples from the He! perian grove.A pre! ent Worthy of the Queen of Love.

Gave wi! e Hippomenes Eternal Fame.And Atalanta’s cruel Speed O’ercame.

In Vain he follows ’till with Radiant Light,One Rolling Apple captivates her Sight.And by its glittering charms retards her flight.

She Soon Outruns him but fre! h rays of Gold,

Her Longing Eyes & Slackened Foot! teps Hold,’Till with di! dain She all his Art defies,And Swifter then an Ea! tern Tempe! t flies.

Then his de! pair throws his la! t Hope away,For ! he mu! t Yield whom Love & Gold betray.

What is Hippomenes, true Wi! dom knows.And whence the Speed of Atalanta Flows.

She with Mercurial Swiftne! s is Endued,

Which Yields by Sulphur’s prudent Strength pur! ued.But when in Cybel’s temple they would proveThe utmo! t joys of their Exce!! ive Love,

The Matron Godde! s thought her! elf di! dained,Her rites Unhallowed & her ! hrine profaned.

Then her Revenge makes Roughne! s o’er them ri! e,And Hideous feireene!! e Sparkle from their Eyes.

Still more Amazed to ! ee them! elves look red,

Whil! t both to Lions changed Each Other dread.He that can Cybell’s My! tic change Explain,

And tho! e two Lions with true Redne! s ! tain,Commands that trea! ure plenteous Nature givesAnd free from Pain in Wi! dom’s Splendor lives.

Page 7: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 7/156

1

EM B L E M A I .Portavit eum ventus in ventre  ! uo. 

(The Wind carried him in his belly)

EPIGRAMMA I.

Embryo vento ! â Boreæ qui clauditur alvoVivus in hanc lucem  ! i ! emel ortus erit;

Unus is Heroum cunctos ! uperare labores Arte, manu, forti corpore, mente, pote ! t.Ne tibi ! it Coe ! o, nec abortus inutilis ille,

Non Agrippa, bono ! ydere ! ed genitus.

Engli! h’d thus:

If BOREAS can in his own Wind conceive An off  !  pring that can bear this light & live;In art, Strength, Body, Mind He ! hall excell All wonders men of Ancient Heroes tell.Think him no Cae ! o nor Abortive brood,

Nor yet Agrippa, for his Star is good.

Page 8: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 8/156

2

DISCOURSE I.

Hermes, the mo! t indu! trious ! earcher into all the ! ecrets of Nature, doth in hisSmaragdine Table exqui! itely thus ! uccinctly de! cribe the Natural Work when he ! ays:‘Wind carried Him in his belly,’ as if he ! hould have ! aid that He who! e father is Sol &

mother is Luna mu! t, before he can be brought forth into the light, be carried by windyfumes, even as a Bird is carried in the Air when it flies.

Now from fumes or winds (which are nothing el! e but Air in Motion) being coagulated,Water is produced, & from Water mixed with earth all minerals & metals do proceed.And even the! e la! t are ! aid to con! i! t of & be immediately coagulated from fumes, ! o thatwhether He be placed in Water or fume the thing is the ! ame; for one as well as the otheris the ma! ter of Wind. The ! ame the more remotely may be ! aid of Minerals & Metals, butthe Que! tion is: Who is He that ought to be carried by Winds? I an ! wer: Chymically it isSulphur which is carried in Argent Vive (contained in quick! ilver), as Lully in his

Codicill cap. 32 & all other Authors atte! t. [Marginal note: “Lully ibid: ‘The wind carrieshim in his belly;’ That is, ! ulphur is carried by Argent Vive; & Ch. 47: ‘The Stone is Fire

carried in the Belly of Air.’”] Phy! ically it is the Embryo, which in a little time ought tobe borne into the light. I ! ay al! o that Arithmetically it is the Root of a Cube; Mu! ically itis the Di! diapa! on; Geometrically it is a point, the beginning of a continued running line;A! tronomically it is the Center of the Planets Saturn, Jupiter & Mars.

Now although the! e are different Subjects, Yet if they be well compared together theywill ea! ily demon! trate what the off! pring of Wind mu! t be. But this enquiry mu! t be leftto every man's own Indu! try, be it remembered. But I ! hall point out the matter moreplainly thus: All Mercury is compo! ed of fumes, that is of Water elevating Earth togetherwith it! elf into an aerial rarity or thinne! s, & of Earth forcing Air to return into WateryEarth or Earthy Water; for when the Elements are in it altogether & mixed throughout &mutually blended, ! ubdued & reduced to a certain Vi! cous Nature, they do not ea! ilyrecede from one another, but either follow the Volatile flying upwards, or remain belowwith tho! e that are fixed.

Nor is it indeed without rea! on that Mercury is called the Me!! enger or Interpreter & as itwere the running intermediate Mini! ter of the other Gods & has Wings fitted to his head& feet; for He is Windy & flies through the air as wind it! elf, which many Per! ons arereally & experimentally convinced of, to their great damage. But becau! e he carries a Rodor Caduceus about which two ! erpents are twined acro! s one the other, by which he candraw ! ouls out of bodies & bring them back again & effect many ! uch contrarities, He is amo! t Excellent figure or repre! entation of the Philo! ophical Mercury. Mercury, therefore,is Wind, which takes Sulphur, or Diony! ius, or (if You plea! e ! o to call it) A! culepius,being yet an imperfect Embryo out of the Mother’s belly or out of the A! hes of theMother's body burned, & carries it thither where it may be brought to maturity.

Page 9: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 9/156

3

And the Embryo is Sulphur, which by the cele! tial Sun is infu! ed into the Wind ofBoreas, that he may bring it forth in maturity. Who, after the complete time of hisTeeming, does bring forth twins, one with white Hair, Called Calais, the other with Red,named Zethes. The! e Sons of Boreas (as Orpheus the Chymick Poet writes) wereCompanions to Ja! on among! t the ! et of the Argonauts when he went to fetch the GoldenFleece from Colchis, for Phineas the blind Prophet, being infe! ted by the Harpies, could

not be freed from them but by the! e Sons of Boreas, & for ! o great a benefit obtained bytheir means, He out of gratitude ! howed the whole cour! e of their way to the Argonauts.The! e Harpies are nothing el! e but corrupting Sulphur which is driven away by the Sonsof Boreas when they come to full age, & from a thing imperfect and mole ! ted withnoxious and hurtful Volatiles becomes perfect & not ! ubject to that Evil, & afterwards! hows Ja! on its Phy! ician the way how to obtain the Golden Fleece.

Ba! il [Valentine] as well as other Authors takes Notice of the! e Winds & in his ! ixth Key! ays thus: “For there ought to come a double Wind named Vulturnus & a ! ingle Windcalled Notus which will blow impetuou! ly from the Ea! t & the South, upon the ce!! ation

of who! e motion ! o that Water is made of their Air. You may confidently believe that aCorporeal thing will be made of a Spiritual.” & Ripley, Gate 8th, ! ays that our infantought to be born again in Air, that is, in the Belly of the Wind. In the ! ame ! en! e may thatbe taken which we find in Scala Philo! ophorum Degree the 6th: “You mu! t know that theSon of the Wi! e is born in the Air,” & Degree 8th: “Airy Spirits a! cending together intothe Air do love one another; as Hermes ! aid, ‘the Wind carried him in his Belly,’ becau! ethe generation of our Son is made in the Air, & being born in the Air is born Wi! ely, forhe a! cends from Earth to Heaven, & again de! cends to Earth acquiring both the ! uperiour& inferiour Virtue.”

Page 10: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 10/156

4

EM B L E M A I I .Nutrix eius terra e ! t. (The Earth is his Nur! e) 

EPIGRAMMA II.

Romulus hirt a lupae pre !! i !! e, ! ed ubera caprae Jupiter, & factis, fartur ade !! e fides:

Quid mirum, tener Sapientium vi ! cera Prolis Si ferimus Terram lacte nutri ! e ! uo?Parvula ! i tantas Heroas be ! tia pavit,

Quantus , cui Nutrix Terreus Orbis , erit?

Page 11: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 11/156

5

DISCOURSE II.

It is determined by the Peripatetic & other Philo! ophers of ! ound Judgment that thething nouri! hing mu! t be converted into the ! ub! tance of the nouri! hed & made like to it,not before but after it has received an alteration, & this is admitted as an undoubted

axiom. For how! hould the thing nouri

! hing,

! uppo

! ing it beforehand to be like to, or the

! ame with the thing nouri! hed, have need of any change in its e!! ence, which if it ! houldhappen would hinder it from remaining the ! ame or alike. For how ! hould tho! e thingsbe received for nouri! hment which cannot be converted into a like ! ub! tance with thething nouri! hed, as wood, ! tones, &c. As therefore the fir! t is vain ! o the ! econd iscontrary to Nature.

But for an infant newborn to be nouri! hed with the Milk of Animals is a thing notrepugnant to Nature, for milk will become of the like ! ub! tance with it, but more ea! ily ifit be ! ucked from the Mother than any other Creature. Wherefore Phy! icians conclude

that it conduces to the health &! trength of an infant as likewi

! e to the conformity oftemper & manners if it is always fed & nouri! hed by the milk of its own Mother, & that

the contrary happens if it is done by that of a Stranger. This is the Univer ! al Harmony ofNature: That Like delights in its Like & as far as it can po !! ibly follows its foot! teps ineverything by a certain tacit con! ent & agreement. The ! ame thing happens of cour! e inthe Natural work of the Philo! ophers, which is equally governed by Nature in itsFormation as an Infant in its Mother's womb. And although as Father, Mother & even aNur! e be a! cribed to it by way of ! imilitude, Yet it is not more Artificial than thegeneration of every Animal.

Two ! eeds are by a plea! urable Artifice joined together by Animals & both the Human! exes which being united by ! ucce!! ive Alteration produce an Embryo which grows & isincrea! ed, acquires life & motion, & then is nouri! hed by Milk. But it is nece!! ary for aWoman in the time of Conception & impregnation to be very temperate in heat, Food,drink, Motion, Re! t & all things el! e; otherwi! e Abortion will follow & de! truction of theconceived Embryo, which Ob! ervation in the ! ix non-naturals becau! e it is pre! cribed bythe Phy! icians according to their Art is al! o Artificial. After the ! ame manner, if the ! eedsbe not joined together in the Philo! ophical Work, they ought to be joined, but if theycould anywhere be found joined together as the ! eed of a Cock & Hen do ! ub! i! t together& are contained in one Egg, then would the Philo! ophers’ work be more natural that the

generation of Animals.

But let us grant (as the Philo! ophers do a!! ert) that one comes from the Ea! t & the otherfrom the We! t & are made one: what more is as mini! tered to 'em than mixture in theirown Ve!! el, Temperate Heat, and Nutriment. The Ve!! el is indeed Artificial, but in thisthere is no more difference than if the ne! t were made by the Hen her! elf or made for herby the Country Dame in ! ome convenient place as commonly it is. The Generation ofEggs & Hatching of Chickens from them will be the ! ame. Heat is a Natural thing,whether it proceed from the Temperate Heat of furnaces, putrefaction of Dung, from the

Page 12: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 12/156

6

Sun & Air, from the Bowels of the Mother, or otherwi! e. Thus the AEgyptian from hisFurnaces does by Art Admini! ter a Natural Heat for the Hatching of Eggs. The ! eeds ofSilk worms & even Hens’ Eggs are ! aid to have been Hatched by the Warmth of aVirgin's brea! ts. Art, therefore, & Nature, do mutually join hands & officiate one for theother. Neverthele! s, Nature is always the Mi! tre! s & art the Handmaid.

But a doubt may [be] rai! 

ed how the Earth may be! 

aid to be the NURSE of thePhilo! ophical Infant, ! eeing it is the Element which is mo! t dry & void of Juice, in! omuchthat Dryne! s appertains to it as its proper quality. It may be an! wered that EarthElemented is to be under! tood, & not the Element of Earth, who! e Nature we have fullyexplained in the fir! t day of our Philo! ophical Week. This Earth is the Nur! e of Caelum orHeaven, not by opening, wa! hing, or moi! tening the Infant, but by coagulating, fixing,coloring and converting it into more Juice & Blood. For Nutrition implies anAugmentation in length, breadth & Depth which extends it! elf through all theDimen! ions of a Body, & ! eeing this can be afforded & admini! tered to the Philo! ophicalInfant by Earth only, it can in no wi! e be improper to call the Earth by the name of his

NURSE. But this admirable Juice of Earth has a quality different from other kinds ofMilk which are converted & do not convert for this by rea! on of its mo! t efficaciousVirtue does mightily alter the Nature of the thing Nouri! hed, as the Milk of the Wolf isbelieved to have di! po! ed the Body of Romulus to a Nature that was Magnanimous &prepen! e to War.

Page 13: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 13/156

7

EM B L E M A I I I .Vade ad mulierem lavantem pannos, tu fac  ! imiliter. 

(Go to the Woman Wa! hing Clothes & do after the ! ame Manner.)

EPIGRAMMA III.

 Abdita qui ! quis amas ! erutari dogmata, ne ! isDe ! es, in exemplum, quod juvet, omni trahas:

 Anne vides, mulier, maculis ab ! tergere pannosUt ! oleat calidis, quas ! uperaddit, aquis?

Hanc imitare, tuâ nec ! ic fru ! traberis arte,Namque nigri faecem corporis lavat.

Page 14: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 14/156

8

DISCOURSE III.

When Linen Clothes are ! oiled & made dirty by earthy Filth, they are cleaned bythe next Element to it: Namely Water; & then clothes being expo! ed to the Air, themoi! ture together with the Faeces is drawn out by the heat of the Sun as by fire,

which is the fourth Element, & if this be often repeated, they become clean & freefrom ! tains. This is the work of women which is taught them by Nature. For we! ee (as I! aac remarks) that the Bones of Bea! ts if they are often wet with Rain & asoften dried by the heat of the Sun will be reduced to a perfect whitene ! s. The ! ameis to be ob! erved in the Philo! ophick Subject, for whatever faeces or Crudities arein it will be purged & taken away by the infu! ion of its proper Waters, & thewhole body will be brought to a great perfection & cleanne! s. For all Chemicalpreparations, as Calcination, Sublimation, Solution, Di! tillation, De! cen! ion,Coagulation, Fixation, & the re! t are performed by wa! hing only. For whoever

wa! hes a thing unclean with waters does the ! ame thing as He that runs throughall the! e Operations. For, as the Ro! ary of the Philo! ophers [Ro! ariumPhilo! ophorum] ! aith; "The Inner Clothes Prince Divinick, being ! oiled by ! weat,are to be wa! hed by Fire & burned in Waters, ! o that Fire & Water ! eem to haveinterchanged their mutual Qualities, or el! e the Philo! ophic Fire is not to be! uppo! ed of the ! ame kind with the common Fire;" & the ! ame thing is to be ! aid ofthe Philo! ophic Water.

As for the Calc Vive or Quicklime & Ignis Graecus, we know that they are kindled

by Water & cannot be extingui! hed by it contrary to the Nature of other thingsthat will take Fire; ! o it is affirmed that Camphor over-kindled will burn in Water.

And An! el. de Bood ! ays that the Stone Gagates being ! et on Fire is more ea! ilyquenched by Oil than Water, for Oil will mingle with it and choke the fiery body.Whereas Water not being able to mix with the fatne! s yields the the fire unle! s ittotally covers & overwhelms it, which it cannot ea! ily do, becau! e although it be aStone, it ! wims upon the top of the Water like Oil; ! o Naptha, Petroleum & the likeare not ea! ily quenched by Water. Some write that there are Subterranean Coals inthe Country of Liege which, taking Fire under the earth, cannot be extingui! hed by

water, by by Earth thrown in upon them. Cornelius Tacitus mentions ! uch a ! ort ofFire which cannot be quenched but by Clubs & Clothes taken from the Body &thrown upon it.

There is, therefore, great diver! ity in Fires, both in their being kindled &extingui! hed, & there is no le! s in Liquors, for Milk, Vinegar, Spirits of Wine, aquafortis, aqua Regia and Common Water differ very much when they are thrownupon Fire; ! ometimes the matter it! elf will endure Fire, as tho! e fine Linen Clothes

Page 15: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 15/156

9

which were of great E! teem among the Ancients & were cleaned by Fire, their dirtbeing burned away. What is ! aid of the Hairs of a Salamander, that they will makethe wick of a Lamp that ! hall be incombu! tible is not to be Credited. But there areper! ons who really affirm that there was a contexture prepared from Talc,Plumous Alumine & other materials by a Cunning Woman of Antwerp which ! he! aid to clean

! e by Fire, but that

! he of envy

! uffered that Art to die with Her, & theTemperament could never be found out afterwards. We do not ! peak here of

combu! tible matters.

The Philo! ophical Subject, whenever it is prepared, mu! t be con! idered under allthe! e differences, for their Fire, Water & Matter it! elf is not Common. But their Fireis Water & their Water is Fire. Their Water at the ! ame time wa! hes & calcines, &! o does their Fire.; & the Clothes which mu! t be wa! hed have the ! ame nature withthe Fine linen before mentioned or Talk prepared; but the Tempering of it & theArt in its preparation is not known to everyone. For the wa! hing of this Linen, a

Lye mu! t be made, not of Oak a! hes or their Salt, but from Metals, which is moredurable than any other; and it mu! t not be Common Water, but Water Congealedinto Ice & ! now under the ! ign Aquarius, for this has finer Particles than the! tanding Waters of Fens and Mar! hes, & con! equently can better penetrate into theRece!! es of the Philo! ophic Body to wa! h and purge it from filth & Blackne! s.

Page 16: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 16/156

10

EM B L E M A IV.Coniunge fratrem cum ! orore & propina illis poculum amoris: 

(Join the Brother & the Si! ter & drink to ’em in the Bowl of Love.)

EPIGRAMMA IV.

Non hominum foret in mundo nunc tanta propago,Si fratri conjunx non data prima  ! oror.

Ergo lubens conjunge duos ab utroque parenteProgenitos, ut ! int faemina ma ! que toro.

Praebibe nectareo Philothe ! ia pôcla liquoreUtri ! que, & faetus !  pem generabit amor.

Page 17: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 17/156

11

DISCOURSE IV.

Divine & Human Laws prohibit tho! e Per! ons to intermarry who are joined byNature in too near degrees of Blood, whether in a Line a! cending, de! cending, orcollateral, & that for very ju! t rea! ons. But when Philo! ophers ! peak of the

Marriage of a Mother with her Son, a Father with his Daughter, or a Brother withhis Si! ter, the! e neither ! peak nor act again! t the Laws before mentioned, Becau! ethe Subjects di! tingui! h the Attributes, & the Cau! e the Effects. For the Per! ons ofwhom the Philo! ophers ! peak are as much at liberty as the Sons & Daughters ofAdam, who intermarried without the Imputation of any Crime. The chiefe! t rea! on! eems to be that the Human Race might be more ! trictly United & a!! ociated byaffinity & friend! hip, & not be divided by enmities & Hereditary Factions offamilies. So nothing hindered the Sons & Daughters of Adam, though Brothers &Si! ters, to be joined in marriage, for mankind did exi! t in them alone & their

Parents, & therefore, although they were allied in blood, yet were they to be joinedin affinity.

But the number of men increa! ing & being di! tributed into innumerable families,the true & ju! t Cau! e was found, why Brothers & Si! ters ! hould not marry. ThePhilo! ophers have a different rea! on why the Brother ! hould marry the Si! ter,which is the ! imilitude of their Sub! tance, that Like may be joined to its Like. Ofthis kind, there are two which are alike in Specie but different in Sex. One ofwhich is called the Brother, the other the Si! ter. The! e therefore being in the ! ame

liberty & Condition as the fir! t kindred of men, are Lawfully indeed, & by aninevitable nece!! ity to be joined together in Matrimony.

The Brother is hot & dry, & therefore very Cholerick. The Si! ter is cold & moi! t,having much Phlegmatick matter in her. Which two Natures, ! o different in theirTemper, agree be! t in fruitfulne! s, Love, & Propagation of Children. For as Firewill not ea! ily be ! truck out of the harde! t Bodies, Steel & Steel, nor out of tho! ebrittle Bodies, Flint & Flint, but from the hard & brittle, that is, Steel & Flint, ! oneither from a burning Male & Fiery Female, nor from both of 'em being cold (forcold is the unfruitfulne! s of the Male) can a living off! pring be produced. But he

mu! t be hot & ! he more cold than he, for in Human Temperament, the hotte! tWoman is colder that the colde! t Man, ! uppo! ing him to be in Health, as LevinusSemnius, in his book of the Hidden Miracles of Nature affirms. The Si! ter,therefore, & Brother are rightly joined by the Philo! ophers.

If a man de! ire off! pring from a Hen, Bitch, or Ewe, or other animal, He joins it to aCock, Dog, or Ram, every animal to that ! pecies to which it is mo! t like, & ! o heobtains his End. For he does not regard the Con! anguinity of the! e Brutes, but the

Page 18: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 18/156

12

genero! ity of each & agreement of their Natures. The ! ame may be ! aid of the bodyof a Tree & the Hip that is to be ingrafted into it. So the Metallic Nature, whichabove all things has a likene! s or Homogeneity of Sub! tance, de! ires its like whenany thing is to be joined to it. But the Brother & Si! ter being married will not befruitful or long per! i! t in their Love, unle! s a Philothe! ium or Cup of Love be

drunk to 'em as a Philtre. For by this, their minds being compo! ed & united, theybecome drunk, & (like Lot) all ! hame being bani! hed, they are joined & produce an

off! pring that is Spurious but Legitimate.

Who can be ignorant that Mankind is very much obliged to Medicine, & that thereare thou! ands of per! ons in the World who had not exi! ted unle! s their Parents hadbeen freed from Barrenne! s, either by removing the Cau! e, or taking away theimpediment, either near or remote, and pre! erving the Mother from Abortion.Therefore the Cup of Love is given to the new-married Pair for the! e rea! onswhich are three: the Con! tancy of Love, the Removal of Barrenne! s, & the

Hindrance of Abortion.

Page 19: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 19/156

13

EM B L E M A V. Appone mulieri ! uper mammas bufonem, ut ablactet eum,

& moriatur mulier, ! itque bufo gro !! us de lacte. (Put a Toad to the Woman’s brea! t, that ! he may ! uckle him

’till ! he die, & he become gro! s with her milk.)

EPIGRAMMA V.

Foemineo gelidus ponatur pectore Bufo,In ! tar ut infantis lactea pocla bibat.

Cre ! cat & in magnum vacuata per ubera tuber,Et mulier vitam liquerit aegra  ! uam.

Inde tibi facies medicamen nobile, virusQuod fuget humano corde, levétque luem.

Page 20: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 20/156

14

DISCOURSE V.

The whole body of Philo! ophers agree in this, that their work is nothing el! e butmale & female; the man's part is to generate, & govern the wife, & Her part is toconceive, impregnate, bring forth, ! uckle & educate the off! pring, & be ! ubject to

the Commands of her Hu! band. For, as ! he nouri! hes the conceived Embryo beforeit is brought forth with her blood, ! o ! he does afterwards with her milk. Hence,Nature has prepared for the tender Infant a Dige! tible & well proportionedNutrient in the mother's Brea! ts, which waits for his coming as his fir! t provi! ion &! u! tenance in his Cour! e of Life. By milk therefore He is nouri! hed, grows, & isincrea! ed 'till he be furni! hed with teeth, his fit in! truments to eat bread withal.Then He is properly weaned, becau! e Nature has provided him more ! olid food.

But here the Philo! ophers ! ay that a Toad mu! t be put to the Woman's brea! ts, that! he may Nouri! h him as an infant with her Milk. This is a mi! erable & horrid! pectacle, & indeed, an impious thing, that milk de! igned for an infant ! hould begiven to a Toad, being a Venomous bea! t & contrary to the Nature of Man. Wehave heard & read of ! erpents and Dragons ! ucking the Teats of Cows, & Toadsperhaps might do the like if they could gain an opportunity.

There is a noted ! tory of a Toad that fixed him! elf upon the mouth & out! ide of thelips of a Country man that was a! leep, & could not be removed by any contrivanceunle! s by Violence, which could not be attempted without the hazard of the man'slife, for he would then have ! pit his poi! on, which he u! es as his offen! ive &

defen! ive weapon. A Remedy was found for this mi! erable man, from thatAntipathy which the Spider bears for the Toad, for they hate one the othermortally. He was carried to the place where an overgrown Spider had made hisweb, who, as ! oon as he ! aw the Toad, he let him! elf down upon his back &pinched him with his ! ting; but this doing no hurt, the Spider came down the! econd time, & ! truck him more violently, upon which the Toad immediately! welled & fell dead from the man’s mouth without any harm to him.

But here the contrary happens, becau! e the Toad does not ! eize the mouth, but the

Brea! t of the Woman, by who

! e milk he increa

! es

! o much that he becomes of anextraordinary ! trength & bigne! s; but the woman, having her ! pirits exhau! ted,

con! umes & dies, for poi! on is ea! ily communicated to the Heart by the pectoralVeins, & infects & de! troys it, as it is evident in Cleopatra, who applied vipers toher brea! ts, that by a Voluntary death ! he might prevent her coming into thehands of her enemies & being led in Triumph by them. [In margin: ‘Theophilus inTurba makes mention of a Dragon joined to a woman.’]

Page 21: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 21/156

15

But, le! t any man ! hould think the Philo! ophers ! o cruel as to fa! ten a Venomousreptile to a woman’s brea! t, it mu! t be known that this Toad is the off! pring or Sonof this woman, brought forth by a mon! trous birth, & therefore by Natural Rightmu! t be fed with his Mother's Milk, & that it is not the Son’s de ! ire that his mother! hould die; for he could not infect his mother, ! eeing he was formed in her Bowels

& nouri! hed with her blood ’till the time of his birth. It is indeed a thing ominousfor a Toad to be born of Woman, which in our knowledge hath happened

otherwi! e: William of Newberry, an Engli! h writer, ! aith (how truly let others judge) that in a certain Quarry in the Dioce! e of Vintonia, a great ! tone being ! plit,there was a living Toad found in it, with a golden Chain, & it was by the Bi! hop'scommand, hidden in the ! ame place & buried in perpetual darkne! s, le! t it mightbear an ill omen with it. Such al! o is this Toad, for it is embelli! hed, although notoutwardly, with an artificial chain, but inwardly with natural Gold, to wit: that ofthe Stone which ! ome call Borax, Chelonitus, Batrachites, Crapaudina, &

Garatronium, for this far excels Gold in Virtue again! t the poi! on of all animals, &is commonly ! et in Gold as a ca! e or Cover, that it may not be hurt or lo! t.Regularly it ought to be had out of an Animal.

But if the Stone be taken out of ! ubterranean Caverns, as it is commonly, it may beneatly contrived in that ! hape & u! ed in! tead of it, being cho! en from the be! tminerals & mo! t relevant to the Heart. For in the! e the Philo! ophical Toad is reallyfound, not in the Quarry (as that fabulous author a!! erts), & has Gold in it! elf,though its pomp does not outwardly appear. For to what end ! hould a Toad adornhim! elf, ! eeing he lurks in darkne! s & ! ecret places? Perhaps that he might be verymagnificently acco! ted by the Beetle, if by chance he ! hould meet him in theTwilight. What Subterranean Gold! mith ! hould make him that Golden Chain?Perhaps that Father of the Green children, that came out of the Land of St. Martin,or rather from the Earth it! elf, as the two Dogs came out of a Quarry, according tothe ! ame Author. 

Page 22: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 22/156

16

EM B L E M A VI.Seminate aurum ve ! trum in terram albam foliatam 

(Sow Your Gold in the white foliate Earth.) 

EPIGRAMMA VI.

Ruricolae pingui mandant ! ua femina terrae,Cum fuerit ra ! tris haec foliata ! uis.

Philo ! ophi niveos aurum docuere per agrosSpargere, wui folii  ! e levis in ! tar habent:

Hoc ut agas, illus bene re !  pice, namque quod aurumGerminet, ex tritico videris, ut  !  peculo.

Page 23: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 23/156

17

DISCOURSE VI.

Plato ! ays that a City does not con! i! t of a Phy! ician & a Phy! ician, but of aPhy! ician & a Hu! bandman; that is, of men of diver! e Crafts & Profe!! ions, & hementions then two more, e! pecially becau! e their Labors are more vi! ible in the

Imitation, Improvement, & Perfection of Nature. For they both take a NaturalSubject to which, according to their Art, they either add ! omething that isnece!! arily wanting or remove tho! e things which are ! uperfluous. So that boththeir Arts may (as medicine is by Hippocrates) be defined to be the addition ofwhat is wanting or Subtraction of ! uperfluity. For the Hu! bandman does no morethan add ploughing, furrowing, Harrowing, dunging or manuring, & la! tly! owing to the Land that is left in its Original State.

But as for the increa! e & produce of it he leaves that to Nature which admini! tersRain to the Heat of the Sun, & by the! e two Multiplies the ! eeds & improves theminto ! tanding Corn fit for reaping. While the blade is growing he weeds out thethi! tles & throws out all other impediments. He reaps the Corn when it is ripe &cleans it when reaped from its ! traw & Chaff. So the Phy! ician (likewi! e theChemi! t in a different re! pect) admini! ters preventing Phy! ick to the Patient aswell as Re! torative, removes the Cau! e, Cures the malady, a!! uages ! ymptoms,takes away ! uperfluous blood by opening a vein & if low re! tores it by aRegulation of Diet, evacuates ill humors by purging, & ! o by a thou! and methodsimitates, ! upplies & corrects Nature with the operations of Art & Under! tanding.

Our pre! ent Con

! iderations are not concerning the

! e things which are commonlyknown, but of matters merely Chemical.

For Chemi! try ! hows its Affinity to Hu! bandry even in its ! ecret Terms & cour! esof Operation. The Hu! bandmen have their Earth into which they ! ow their ! eed &! o have the Chemi! ts. They have their Dung with which they enrich their ground,! o have the! e without which nothing can be accompli! hed nor any fruit expected.They have ! eed from which they hope for an increa! e, & unle! s the Chemi! ts had ! otoo, they would be like a Painter (as Lully ! ays) endeavoring to draw the face of aMan of whom he had never ! een ! o much as the lea! t re! emblance. The Country

man expects Rain & Sun! hine & ! o indeed the Chemi! ts mu! t ! upply their workwith ! uch & Heat & Rain as is proper & convenient. What need of many words?

Chemi! try runs entirely Parallel with Agriculture as its Deputy, & repre! ents it inall things, but under a mo! t compleat Allegory. From hence the Ancientsproduced their Cerereus, Triptolemus, O! irideus, Diony! ius, Golden Gods, or ! uchas had Relation to Chemi! try, but at the ! ame time repre! ented them as teachingmortals to ca! t their ! eed into the Earth & ! howing them Hu! bandry & the planting

Page 24: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 24/156

18

& Cultivation of Vines & the u! e of Wine. All which things the Ignorant fal! elyapplied to their Countries’ Employment. For the! e ab! tru! e My! teries of Natureunder the! e Veils are at the ! ame time explained to the Wi! e, whil! t they areconcealed from the Vulgar.

Hence the Philo! ophers affirm it to be ! owed in White foliated Earth, as if they

would have ! aid that the ! owing of Wheat mu! t be looked upon as an example &con! equently imitated. Which the Author of Tractatus de tritico & Jodoc Greverushave mo! t excellently performed in their De! criptions for they have very elegantlyadapted each Operation of Hu! bandry in the production of Corn to theSemination of Gold & the generation of the Tincture. White Earth as being Sandyyields little fruit to the Countrymen who e! teem that which is black as beingfatte! t. But the other is of mo! t Value to the Philo! ophers if it be foliated, that is,well prepared. For they know how to improve it with their Dung, which theothers do not. For ! emination is the propagation of the world by which Care is

taken that what cannot la! t in the individual may be continued in the ! pecies. Thisis in Men, Animals & Plants; in the fir! t, Hermaphroditically, in the two la! t underdifferent ! exes, but in Metals it is far otherwi! e, for in them a Line is made from theflux of a Point, a Superficies from the flux of a Line, a body from the flux of aSuperficies.

But the Stars produce that point before either the line, the ! uperficies, or the Body,becau! e it is the Principle of them all. Nature added the flux a long timeafterwards; that is, the Caele! tial Phoebus generated a Son underneath the Earth,

which Mercury committed to Vulcan to be Educated, & to Chiron, that is, toManual operation, to be in! tructed, as it is reported of Achilles that he wasdetained & Hardened in Fires by his Mother Thetis. Among other things Helearned Mu! ic & the Art of playing on the Harp from his Ma! ter Chiron. Achilles isnothing el! e but the Philo! ophic ! ubject, who! e Son is Pyrrhus, with red Hair,without which two, Troy could not be ! ubdued, as we have demon! trated in the! ixth Book of our Hieroglyphics.

Page 25: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 25/156

19

EM B L E M A VII .Fit pullus à nido volans, qui iterùm cadit in nidum. 

(A young eaglet attempts to fly out of its own ne! t & falls into it again.)

EPIGRAMA VII.

Rupe cavâ nidum Iovis Ales ! truxerat, in quoDelituit, pullos enutriítque ! uos:

Horum unus levibus voluit ! e tollere pennis, At fuit implumi fratre retentus ave.

Inde volans redit in nidum, quem liquerat, illis Junge caput caudae, tum nec inanis eris.

Page 26: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 26/156

20

DISCOURSE VII.

That which Hippocrates, the ! tandard of all Phy! ick, affirms concerning Humors,that they are different & many in the Body of Man, & not one only, otherwi ! evarious di! ea! es would not ari! e, is found by us to be true likewi! e in the Elements

of the World. For if there was but one Element, there could be nom change of thatinto another, no generation nor corruption would happen, but all would be oneimmutable thing, and no meteors, minerals, plants or animals could be naturallyproduced from it. Therefore the ! upreme creator compo! ed the whole ! y! tem ofthis whole world of diver! e & contrary natures, namely of light & heavy, hot &cold, moi! t & dry, that one might by affinity pa! s into the other, & ! o a compo! itionbe made of bodies which ! hould be very different one from another in E!! ence,Qualities, Virtues & Effects. For in things perfectly mixed are the light Elements,as Fire & Air, & likewi! e the Heavy, as Earth & Water, which are to be poi! ed and

tempered together, that one flies not from the other.

But the neighboring Elements ea! ily ! uffer them! elves to be taken & detained bytheir Neighbors. Earth & Air are contrary one to the other, & ! o are Fire & Water,& Yet Fire maintains friend! hip with Air by heat common to both, & does ! o withEarth by rea! on of dryne! s, & ! o Air with Water & Water with the Earth. By whichmeans they are joined in bonds of Affinity, or rather con! anguinity, & remaintogether in one compo! ition, which, if it abound with the light Elements, elevatesthe Heavy with it; if with the heavy it pre!! es down the light. This is illu! trated by

two Eagles, one with Wings, the other without; the fir! t of which, endeavoring tofly, is re! trained by the ! econd. There is a plain Example of this Matter in the fight

between the Falcon & Heron, for the Falcon, ! oaring higher in the Air by his! peedy Flying & ! wift wings, takes & tears the Heron with his Talons, by who ! eweight, both fall to the ground. The contrary appeared in the Artificial Dovewhich was an Automata or ! elf-moving piece of Workman! hip made by Architas,who! e heavy things were carried upwards by light, that is, its wooden body waslifted into the Air by the Spirit that was enclo! ed within it.

In the Philo! ophical Subject, the light things are fir! t predominant over the Heavy

as to their quantity, but they are overcome by virtue of the heavy, 7 in proce! s oftime, the eagle's wings are cut off, & one very great Bird (namely an O! trich) ismade of two, which Bird can con! ume Iron, & being hindered by its own weight,! eems rather to run upon the Earth that to fly in the Air, although it has goodlywings. Concerning this or one like it, Hermes (as the Author of Aurora, ch. 5thaffirms) writes thus: 'I have con! idered a Bird Venerable to the Wi! e, which flieswhen it is in Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn,' & 'You will acquire it Perpetually

Page 27: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 27/156

21

to your! elf out of mere minerals & Rocks of Mountainous places.' Senior in Tabularelates to the ! ame thing, where two birds are ! een, one flying, the other withoutwings, whereof the one holds the other's Tail by its beak, that they cannot ea! ily be! eparated. For this is the machination or device of Univer! al Nature, always torai! e heavy things by light, & to depre! s light ones by heavy, as the Author of

Perfectum Magi! terius declares: 'Who con

! titutes

! even Mineral Spirits, as it wereerratic or Wandering Stars, & ! o many Metallic Bodies & Fixed Stars, and enjoins

the! e to be married to the others.' And thence Ari! totle the Chemi! t ! ays: 'The Spirithaving di!! olved the Body & Soul ! o that they may exi! t in their form, does notremain unle! s You Occupy it.'

Now this Occupation is that You join it with the Body from whence you preparedit in the beginning. Becau! e in that the Spirit at the ! uperexi! tences of the Body isOccupied from flight. In Camphora, as Bonus ob! erves, the light Elements, that is,Air & Fire, prevail over the Heavy, & therefore it is ! aid wholly to exhale &

evaporate into Air. In Argent Vive, the Flowers of Sulphur, Antimony, the ! alt ofHeart's blood, Sal Armoniac & ! uch other things, the Earth flies with the Alembic,& is not ! eparated from it. In Gold, Gla! s, Diamonds, the Stone Smiris, Granite, &the like, the Elements remain joined a long time notwith! tanding the fire, withoutany detriment. For the Earth retains the other Elements with it! elf. In otherCombu! tibles, a ! eparation or divi! ion of one from another is effected, ! o that theA! hes are left in the Bottom, & the Water, Air & Fire fly upwards.

We mu! t not therefore have re! pect to the unequal Compo! ition of the! e la! t, being

not ! o ! trongly mixed, nor to the Commixture of the fir! t, which is more de! irable,though compo! ed of Volatiles. But to the ! olidity, Con! tancy & Fixity of the middleones. For ! o the Bird without wings will detain that which hath, and the FixedSub! tances will Fix the Volatiles, which is the thing that of nece!! ity mu! t beEffected.

Page 28: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 28/156

22

EM B L E M A VIII . Accipe ovum & igneo percute gladio. 

(Take an Egg & ! mite it with a fiery ! word.)

EPIGRAMMA VIII.

E ! t avis in mundo  ! ublimior omnibus, OvumCujus ut inquiras, cura ! it una tibi.

 Albumen luteum circumdat molle vitellum,Ignito (ceu mos) cautus id en ! e petas:

Vulcano Mars addat opem: pulla ! ter & indeExortus, ferri victor & ignis erit.

Page 29: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 29/156

23

DISCOURSE VIII.

There are many & diver! e kinds of Birds who! e number is uncertain & theirNames unknown to Us. Story tells us of a very great Bird named Ruc [Roc?], thatappears at certain ! ea! ons of the Year in a ! mall I! land of the Ocean, which can bear

an Elephant up with it into the Air. India & America ! end us Crows & Parrots ofdiver! e Colors. But it is not the Philo! ophical intention to enquire after the Eggs ofthe! e birds. The AEgyptians yearly per! ecute the Crocodiles’ Eggs with weaponsof Iron & de! troy them. The Philo! ophers do indeed ! mite their Eggs with fire, butit is not with an intent to mortify it, but that it may live & grow up. For, ! eeing thatan animate & living chicken is thence produced, it cannot be ! aid to be Corruption,but generation. It cea! es to be an Egg by the privation of the Oval form, & beginsto be a two-footed & volatile Animal by the introduction of a more noble Form, forin the Egg are the ! eeds of both male & female joined together under one Shell or

Cover.

The Yolk con! titutes the Chicken with its radical parts & Bowels, the ! eed of themale forming it & becoming the internal Efficient, whereas the White...[**”Albumen materiam ! eu ! ubtegmen & incrementum dat rudimento ! eu ! taminipulli.”] The external heat is the fir! t mover which by a certain Circulation of theElements & change of one into the other, introduces a new form by the in! tinct &guidance of Nature. For Water pa!! es into Air, Air into Fire, Fire into Earth, whichbeing joined together, & a ! pecific being tran! mitted by the ! tars, an individual

Bird is made of that kind who! e Egg it was & who

! e

! eed was infu

! ed into it. Thisis ! aid to be ! mitten with a fiery ! word when Vulcan performing the office of a

Midwife as he did to Pallas coming from the brain of Jupiter, does by his ax makea pa!! age for the newborn Chicken. This is what Ba! il Valentine affirms, thatMercury was impri! oned by Vulcan at the command of Mars, & could not berelea! ed before he was wholly purified & dead. But this death is to him thebeginning of a New life, as the Corruption or death of the Egg brings newgeneration & life to the Chicken.

So an Embryo being freed from that human vegetable life which alone it enjoyed

in the Mother's womb, obtains another, more perfect one, by his birth & cominginto the light of the world. So when we ! hall pa! s from this pre! ent life, thereremains for us another that is mo! t perfect & Eternal. Lully in many places callsthis fiery ! word a ! harp Lance, becau! e fire as a Lance or ! harp ! word perforatesbodies & makes them porous & pervious [?], ! o that they may be penetrated bywaters & be di!! olved & being reduced from hardne! s become ! oft & Tractable. Inthe Stomach of a Cormorant, which is the mo! t voracious of all Birds, there are

Page 30: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 30/156

24

found long & round worms which ! erve it as the in! truments of Heat, & as wehave ! ometimes ob! erved, ! eize upon tho! e Eels & other fi! h which ! he has! wallowed & Pierce them like ! harp needles, & ! o con! ume them in a ! hort time bya wonderful operation of Nature. As, therefore, Heat pierces, ! o that which pierceswill ! ometimes ! upply the ab! ence of Heat. Upon which Con! ideration, that

wherewith the Philo! ophical Egg ought to be

! mitten may not unde

! ervedly becalled a fiery ! word.

But the Philo! ophers had rather have it under! tood of Temperate Heat, wherebythe Egg is cheri! hed, as Morfoleus in Turba declares: ‘It is nece!! ary [that a] wi! eman’s moi! ture be burned up with a ! low fire, as is ! hown us in the Example of thegeneration of a Chicken, & where the fire is increa! ed, the Ve!! el mu! t be ! toppedon all ! ides, that the body of the Air (or bra! s) [‘aeris’ in original] & the fugitive! pirit of it may not be extracted.’ But what Bird’s Egg mu! t it be? Mo! cus tells usin the ! ame place: ‘Now I ! ay that no in! truments are made except of our white

! tarry ! plendid powder, & of the white Stone, of which powder are made fitin! truments for the Egg. But they have not named the Egg, nor what Bird's Egg itmu! t be.’

Page 31: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 31/156

25

EM B L E M A IX. Arborem cum ! ene conclude in rorida domo,

& comedens de fructu eius fiet iuvenis. (Shut up the Tree with the Old Man in a Hou! e of Dew,

& eating the fruit thereat He will become Young.)

EPIGRAMMA IX.

 Arbor ine ! t hortis Sophiae dans aurea mala,Haec tibi cum no ! tro ! it capienda ! ene;

Inque domo vitrea claudantur, roréque plenâ,Et ! ine per multos haec duo juncta dies:

Tum fructu (mirum!) ! atiabitur arboris illeUt fiat juvenis qui fuit ante ! enex.

Page 32: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 32/156

26

DISCOURSE IX.

All things that grow in length, breadth & Depth, that is, are Born, nouri ! hed,augmented, brought to maturity, & propagated, the ! ame things likewi! e decrea! e,that is, have their ! trength dimini! hed, dice, fall away, as we ! ee in all Vegetables &

Animals. Wherefore man al! o, when he arrives at full growth, admits of decay,which is the ! ame thing as old age, whereby his ! trength is ! en! ibly dimini! hed 'tillhe die. For the cau! e of old Age is the ! ame with that of a Lamp that burns dim forwant of Oil, for as there are three things in a Lamp: the wick, fatne! s & flame, ! o ina man the wick is the Vital members, the Bowels & Limbs. The fatne ! s is theradical moi! ture, & the flame is the Natural Hat. The only difference is, the flameof a Lamp ! hines bright, but the Natural Heat does not, it not being fire but onlyHeat, & whereas that fatne! s is oily, the Radical moi! ture is vi! cous, being of a! eminal principle. As, therefore, a Lamp is extingui! hed for want of oil, ! o man by

old age, without any other di! ea! e, falls into atrophy [mara ! mus, lit. ‘dying away,’from the Greek] & aged con! umption, & la! tly into his grave. It is reported of theEagle, that when he grows old, his beak becomes ! o crooked that he would diewith Hunger, unle! s he could ca! t it. So Deer ! eem to grow young again bythrowing off their horns, Serpents their ! kins, & Crabs their ! hells; not that theyreally do ! o, for their radical moi! ture is not re! tored to them, but only inappearance.

There is nothing that can re! tore Youth to man but death it! elf, which is the

beginning of Eternal life that follows it. However, there are! ome that

! ay as to hisexternal Form & the re! toring of his ! trength in ! ome mea! ure, together with the

taking away of wrinkles, & changing of grey Hair, a proper remedy may be foundout, as Lully affirms of his Quinte!! ence, & Arnold of prepared Gold. But here thePhilo! ophers ! ay that if the Old Man would become Young, he mu! t be ! hut up in aHou! e of Dew, & then he will eat of the fruit of the Tree, & ! o recover Youth. It is! carce believed by the Vulgar that ! uch Trees can be in Nature. The Phy! icianswrite wonders of Myrobalanis [literally: 'miracle fruit'], the Fruit of a certain Tree,that they re! tore grey Hair to blackne! s, purify the blood & prolong life. But this is

! carce credited.Mar! ilio Ficino, in his book of pre! erving the health of ! tudents, recommends! ucking the milk of a beautiful young woman, others recommend the eating ofVipers’ fle! h, but the! e remedies are more trouble! ome than Old Age it! elf, & couldnot be obtained by one in a thou! and, although their effect ! hould be certain.Paracel! us, in his book of Long life, ! ays a ! ick man may attract to him! elf theHealth of another by imagination only, & ! o an Old Man may gather Youth. But

Page 33: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 33/156

27

in this he ! eems rather to be guided by his fancy than experience. It is certain thatthe people called P! yllis, with their double pupils, & witches by their very a! pectbewitch Cattle & Children, according to Virgil: “Ne! cio quis teneros oculus mihifa! cinet agnos.” The! e things are done without contact. But as for the Tree whichis to re! tore the Old Man, the fruit of it is ! weet, red & full ripe, turning into the

be! t blood, as being ea

! y of dige

! tion, & affording the be

! t Nutriment, leavingnothing in the body that is faecal or ! uperfluous. But the Old Man abound with

white Phlegm, has white Hair & Complection, which Humours, Color, & Hair arechanged into that Red which appears in Youth & Vigor.

Therefore the Philo! ophers ! ay their Stone is fir! t an Old Man that is white, & thena Young man, which is Red. And they ! ay further that the Old Man mu! t be placedtogether with the Tree, not in the open air, but in a Hou! e, & that not dry, butmoi! t, with Dew. It may ! eem ! trange that Trees ! hould ! pring & grow in a clo! eplace, but if it be moi! t, there is no doubt of their continuance. For the Nutriment

of a Tree is moi! ture & Airy Earth that is fat, which can a! cend into the body &Bough, & the! e produce leaves, blo!! oms & fruit. In which Natural work then isthe concurrence of all the Elements.

Fire gives the Fir! t Motion as the efficient, Air gives Tenuity & Penetrability,Water Lubricity, & Earth Coagulation. For when any of their ! uperfluities a! cend,Air turns into Water, & Water into Earth. By Fire, I under! tand the Native Heat,which being propagated with the ! eed, does by the Power of the Stars as if it werea Smith, forge out & form ! uch fruits as are like to tho! e things from whence the

! eed ari! eth. But a Dewy Evaporation is not only Expedient, to moi! ten the Tree ! oas to make it yield fruit, but likewi! e the Old Man, that he may the more ea! ily bemade Young again by that fruit. For the Dewy Vapors will mollify, fill up, &re! tore his dry & wrinkled ! kin with temperate heat & moi! ture. WhereforePhy! icians very rationally & with good ! ucce! s pre! cribe Warm Baths for theatrophy [“mara! mo”] or Con! umption of Old Age.

But if the thing be well con! idered, that Tree is the Daughter of the Old Man,which as Daphne is changed into a Vegetable of the like ! ort, & therefore the OldMan may not unju! tly expect Youth from it, ! eeing He him! elf was the cau! e oftheir being.

Page 34: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 34/156

28

EM B L E M A X.Da ignem igni, Mercurium Mercurio, et  ! ufficit tibi. (Give Fire to fire, Mercury to Mercury, and you have enough.) 

EPIGRAMMA X.

 Machina pendet ab hac mundi connexa catenaTota, Suo Quod Par Gaudeat Omne Pari: Mercurius ! ic Mercurio, ! ic jungitur igni

Ignis & haec arti  ! it data meta tuae.Hermetem Vulcanus agit, ! ed penniger Hermes,

Cynthia, te ! olvit, te ! ed, Apollo, ! oror.

Page 35: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 35/156

29

DISCOURSE X.

If this ! aying be taken literally, it only increa! eth the quantity of Fire & Mercury,but introduceth no new quality into the ! ubject. For every like added to its like,makes it become more like. Hence Phy! icians affirm that contraries are healed &

removed by contraries. So we ! ee Fire is extingui! hed by Water, but fomented bythe addition of Fire. As the Poet ! ays: “Venus in wine, as fire in Fire, does rage.”[“Et Venus in vinis, ignis in igne furit.”] But it may be an ! wered that Fire differsvery much from Fire, & Mercury from Mercury, for there are ! everal ! orts of Fire &Mercury among! t the Philo! ophers. Moreover, the ! ame heat & cold, being di! tantonly in place & ! ituation, differs from another of its own kind, ! o as to attract to itthat which is like to it! elf.

So we ! ee that Heat fixed in any part is drawn forth by the ! ame Heat. Limbsbenumbed & almo! t dead with Fro! t & cold water will be re! tored by putting theminto cold Water rather than by the application of external heat. For as the greaterlight ob! cures the le!! er, ! o al! o greater heat or cold has power over the le!! er, ! o itis nece!! ary that the Cold or Heat that is outwardly applied ! hould be le! s than thatwhich was before imprinted or fixed in the joints, otherwi! e the ! ame impre!! ionwould be made as before, & the like would rather be much more increa! ed thandrawn forth by the like.

This drawing out of cold by cold water, & of fiery heat by heat, is agreeable toNature, for all ! udden changes in contraries are dangerous & le! s acceptable to it,

but that which comes by degrees can more ea! ily be endured. So we ! ay there isone internal Fire which is e!! entially infixed in the Philo! ophical ! ubject, & anotherexternal. The ! ame may likewi! e be ! aid of Mercury. The internal Fire isEquivocally ! o cold becau! e of its fiery qualities, virtue, & operation, but theExternal Fire is Univocally ! o. Therefore, External Fire & Mercury mu! t be given tothe internal Fire & Mercury, that ! o the intention of the Work may be completed.For in boiling we u! e Fire & Water to Mollify & mature any thing that hascrudities & hardne! s. For Water penetrates into & di!! olves the parts contracted,whil! t the heat adds ! trength & motion to it. Thus we ! ee in the common coction of

Pul! e ["pulté"], which, being hard in them! elves, yet well are broken and reducedto a pulp in Water, the heat of the Fire rarifying the Water by ebullition &reducing to almo! t an aerial ! ub! tance, ! o the heat of Fire re! olves the crude parts ofFruit or Fle! h into water, & makes them Vani! h into Air together with it.

After the ! ame manner, Fire & Mercury here are Fire & Water, & the ! ame Fire &Mercury are the Mature & Crude parts, of which the crude are to be matured byCoction, or the mature to be purged from ! uperfluities by the a!! i! tance of Water.

Page 36: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 36/156

30

But we ! hall in ! hort demon! trate that the! e two Fires & the! e two Mercuries areprincipally & ! olely nece!! ary to the completion of the Art. Empedocles was ofopinion that the Principles of all things were Friend! hip & Di! cord. Thatcorruptions were made by Variance, and generations by Love. This Di! cord ismanife! tly apparent in Fire & Water, Fire making Water evaporate & Water

extingui! hing Fire when applied to it.

But it is likewi! e plain that generations will proceed from the! e ! ame things by acertain Friend! hip. For by heat is made new generation of Air, & by the ! ame Heatthat induration of Water into the Stone is performed, & ! o from the! e two as thefir! t Elements are made the other two, & con! equently from thence the productionof all things. Water was the Matter of Heaven & all Corporeal things. Fire as theForm moves & informs this matter, ! o this Water or Mercury yields the Matter &Fire or Sulphur the Form. That the! e two may operate & mutually movethem! elves by Solution, Coagulation, Alteration, Tinction & Perfection, there will

be a Nece!! ity of external Helps, as in! truments without which, no effect canfollow. For as a Smith cannot Work without Hammers & Fire, ! o neither can thePhilo! opher without his in! truments, which are Water & Fire.

This Water is by ! ome called the Water of Clouds, as this Fire is called Occa! ionedFire. It is without doubt called the Water of Clouds becau! e it is di! tilled as MayDew, & con! i! ts of mo! t thin parts. For as it is affirmed that May Dew beingenclo! ed in the Shell of a Egg will rai! e it up by the Heat of the Sun, ! o this Waterof the Clouds, or Dew, makes the Philo! opher's Egg a! cend, that is, Sublimes,

Exalts & Perfects it. The ! ame Water is al! o mo! t ! harp Vinegar, which makes thebody a mere Spirit. For as Vinegar has different qualities & can penetrate to thebottom & bind, ! o this Water di!! olves & coagulates, but is not coagulated, becau! eit is not of a proper Subject. The Water is had from the Fountain of Parna !! us,which, contrary to the Nature of other fountains, is upon the Top of the Hill madethe Hoof of the flying Hor! e Pega! us.

There mu! t al! o be actual Fire, which, notwith! tanding, mu! t be governed &qualified by its degrees as with Bridles. For as the Sun proceeding from Aries intoLeo, & ! o approaching nearer, gradually increa! eth heat to things growing, ! o it ishere nece!! ary to be done, for the Philo! ophical Infant mu! t be nouri! hed by Fire aswith Milk, & the more plentiful that is, the more he grows. 

Page 37: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 37/156

31

EM B L E M A XI.Dealbate Latonam & rumpite libros. 

(Whiten Latona and tear your books.) 

EPIGRAMMA XI.

Latonæ ! obolem non novit nemo gemellam,(Ceu fert fama uetus) quæ Iove nata fuit.

Hunc alii tradunt cum Luna lumina Solis Mixta, nigræ cui sint in facie macùlæ.

Latonam ergo pares albe ! cere, damnaque dantes Ambiguos, ad ! it nec mora, rumpe libros.

Page 38: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 38/156

32

DISCOURSE XI.

There are ! uch great differences among! t authors that ! uch per! ons as ! earch afterTruth de! pair of finding any end of this Art. For Allegorical di! cour! es being inthem! elves hard to under! tand are the Cau! e of many Errors, e! pecially as the ! ame

words are applied to different thinges and different words to the ! ame thinges.Whoever would free him! elf from the! e difficultyes mu! t either have a divineGenius to perceive Truth through much darkne!! e, or he mu! t have inexhau! tiblewealth and patience to find through experiment what is True and what is not.

But according to the Philo! ophers one will not do without the other; ingenuity willdo nothing without labour, and vice ver! a. For no man can have under! tandingenough to avoid a hundred thou! and errors, ob! curityes, digre!! ions, ambiguityes,and yet ! till per! i! t in the true part of Nature. Wherefore the Philo! ophers ! ay, hethat hath not yet Erred hath not yet begun, and that Errors teach us what to doand what not. And they likewi! e affirm that a man may ! pend his whole life(though if it were po!! ible he ! hould live a thou! and years) in di! tilling andredi! tilling before he could attain to truth by experiments only. The Corrector ofFools intimates that no progre! s can be made without ! tudy and reading ofAuthors, for he ! ays ! tudy removes ignorance and brings human under! tanding tothe true Knowledge of everything. It is therefore nece!! ary in this work to quickenthe ingenuity by naturall Philo! ophye, the knowledge of Truth being contained init. Let not therefore operators de! pi! e ! tudy. But as for tho! e who are aver! e to it yet

willing to operate, let them take care that their Art be the Imitation of Nature it! elf,which Art de! ires to amend becau! e it is impo!! ible for Her to prepare the

Philo! ophickal ! ecrets to a perfect End. The wi! e ! ay of the! e men that they run topractice as an A! s to Hay, not knowing what he puts his no! e to, led to his food byhis ! ight and ta! te, to wit his exterior ! en! es, without any under! tanding. And ! o fargoes this Author.

But lea! t a man ! hould vex him! elf with overmuch ! tudy, which is an immen! e andprofound Sea, and would bring every word (which perhaps may relate to quiteanother thinge) into practice thereby wa! ting and con! uming his ! trength, time,

reputation, and riches, the Philo! ophers u! e this Emblematicall ! peech, ThatLatona mu! t be whitened and their books mu! t be torn lea! t their Hearts bebroken. For mo! t books are ! o ob! curely written that they can only be under! toodby their Authors; indeed, ! everall of them are left out of Envy to ! educe others, orrather to retard them in their Cour! e, that they may not attain to their end withoutdifficulty, or to ob! cure tho! e thinges which they them! elves had written before.

Page 39: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 39/156

33

But the chief work and labour is how to whiten Latona. The book called ClangorBuccinæ defines Latona as an Imperfect Body of Sol and Luna. The mo! t AncientPoets and writers affirm Latona to be the Mother of Apollo and Diana; others callher their Nur! e, and ! tate that Diana was brought forth fir! t (for Luna andwhitene!! e do fir! t appear), who afterwards but the ! ame day performed the office

of a Midwife in bringing forth Apollo her brother. For Latona was one of thetwelve Hieroglyphicall Gods of the Ægyptians by whom the! e and otherAllegoryes were propagated among other Nations. Very few even of theirÆgyptian Prie! ts knew the true ! en! e and meaning of them, the remainder of thePeople applying them to other Subjects that were not in the Nature of thinges,namely Gods, Godde!! es and the like. Wherefore Latona had the mo! t ! umptuousTemple next to Vulcan adorned with gold becau! e ! he was the mother of thePhilo! ophickal Apollo and Diana.

But this Latona is brown and blacki! h, and hath many moles in her Face, which

mu! t be taken away by Dealbation or blanching. Some make their dealbations ofCeru! e, Sublimate Mercury, Talc reduced to Oyle and the like, by which theyencru! t, cover and ! o would whiten the out! ide of her ! kin. But the whiteningencru! tations fall off by every wind or liquor, becau! e they do not penetrate theinward parts, and ! o deceiving only their eyes by their fal! e Colours are notregarded well by the Philo! ophers. For the Philo! ophers would have Latona's facemade white by penetration and by altering the ! kin it! elf, that is truly and not! uperficially or by colouring alone. You may a! k how this can be done? I an! wer,Latona mu! t fir! t be ! ought out and known, which though ! he be drawn from aVile place, yet ! he mu! t be ! ublimed to one more worthy. But if ! he be taken from amore worthy place, ! he is to be ! ubmer! ed in a place more vile- that is, into Dung.For there indeed ! he grows white and becomes white lead, which being obtainedthere is no doubt of ! ucce! s; for from White Lead proceeds the Red Lead, which isthe beginning and End of the Work. 

Page 40: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 40/156

34

EM B L E M A XII .Lapis, quem Saturnus, pro Ioue filio devoratum, euomuit,

 pro monumento in Helicone mortalibus e ! t po ! itus. (The Stone which Saturn vomited up, being devoured in! tead of his Son Jupiter,

is placed on the Helicon as a Monument to Men.) 

EPIGRAMMA XII.

No !! e cupis cau ! am, tot cur Helcona PoëtæDicant, quodque eius cuique petendus apex?

Est Lapis in ! ummo, Monumentum , uertice po ! tus,Pro Ioue deglutiit quem uomuitque pater.

Si ceu uerba ! onant rem captas, mens tibi læua est,Namque est Saturni Chemicus ille Lapis.

Page 41: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 41/156

35

DISCOURSE XII.

We find the Allegorye of Saturn to be taken diver! e ways, for the A! tronomersreputed him the Highe! t of the Planets, and the ! tudents of chemi! try the ba! e! t ofmetalls, namely lead. The Heathen Poets ! ay he was the Father of Jupiter, the Son

of Heaven. The Mythologi! ts explain him by the notion of Time. But though allthe! e may ! eem to have a probable opinion according to their own ! en! e, yet theywill never be able to explain certain thinges which are el! ewhere ! poken of Saturn;! uch as why he ! hould devour his Sons and Vomit up a Stone in! tead of Jupiter. Orwhy he ! hould be the Finder Out or Di! coverer of Truth; why he ! hould beremarkable for his Scythe and Serpent, or his Blackne!! e, moro! ene! s and di! tortedfeet. The Mythologi! ts think they give the be! t interpretation when they ! ay Timereveals and manife! ts Truth out of Darkne!! e, that it rolls it! elf around and glidesaway like a Serpent, and that it cuts all thinges down with Death as with a Scythe.

That he devours his Sons, to wit all beings that he ever begot, but that he cannotcon! ume or dige! t hard Stones, and therefore may be ! aid to Vomit them up again.

The! e may in part have ! ome re! emblance to the Truth, but they do not agree in theTruth of the thinges in all its Circum! tances. But the experienced Philo! ophers ! aythat Saturn is fir! t in their work, and that if he be really pre! ent they cannot Err, forTruth is di! covered in darkne!! e, and nothing comes into exi! tence withoutblackne!! e. Wherefore they ! ay in the Turba Philo! ophorum, whatever Colourcomes after blackne!! e is prai! eworthy, becau! e it is the beginning of the Work.

And the Ro! ary out of Arnoldus

! ays, when it fir

! t glows black we

! ay it is the Keyof the Work, becau! e that cannot be made without blackne!! e. And out of the

Speculum when you are working ! ee that in the beginning you obtain a blackcolour, for then you will be certain that you cau! e putrefaction and proceed in theright method. And again, that blackne!! e is cold Earth which is made by a lightdecoction and is often reiterated till blackne!! e be mo! t eminent. Hence they ! aythat Saturn po!! e!! ed the Earth, Mercury the Water, Jupiter the Air, Sol the Fire-Blackne!! e therefore is Saturn, the Di! coverer of Truth who devours a Stone in! teadof Jupiter. For Blackne!! e is a dark cloud covering the Stone at fir! t ! o that it cannot

be ! een.Thence Morienus ! ays each body that wants a Soul is dark and ob! cure. AndHermes pre! cribes thus, Take his brain and wear or rub it with Sharpe! t Vinegar orUrine of Boys till it becomes dark. This being performed he lives in putrefaction,and the dark clouds that were upon him and in his Body before he died arereturned. This Stone is again ca! t up by Saturn when he becomes White, and thenit is placed upon the Top of Helicon as a Monument to Mortals, as He! iod writes.

Page 42: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 42/156

36

For Whitene!! e is really hid in blackne!! e, which is extracted out of his belly, thatis, out of the Stomach of Saturn. Therefore ! aith Democritus, Clean! e Tin with a! peciall ab! olution, extract from it its blackne!! e and ob! curity, and the whitene!! eof it will appear. And in the Turba it is ! aid join the Dry with the moi! t, that is theblack earth with its water, and decoct it till it becomes white. Arnold in his work

called Novum Lumen, chapter 4, very well expre!! 

es the! ame thinge when he

! ays, That moi! ture therefore which cured the blackne!! e in the decoction ! howsit! elf to be dried up when the white Colour begins to appear. And a little after:And my Ma! ter ! aid to me that Browne!! e a! cended becau! e the whitene!! e wasdrawn out of the Belly of the Blackne!! e, as is ! aid in the Turba. For when you ! ee itblack, know that whitene!! e is hid in the belly of the blackne!! e fir! t appearing.

As this blackne!! e is called Saturn, ! o it is likewi! e called Lead. Thence Agadimonin the Turba ! ays decoct the æs or bra!! e till the blackne!! e which they call moneycomes forth, and mix well the materials of our Art, and then you will pre! ently

find blackne!! e, which is the Lead of the Philo! ophers ! o much ! poken of in theirbooks. Emigamus has relation to this when he ! ays that the Splendour of Saturnwhen he a! cends into the Air appears no otherwi! e then Darkened. And ! o Plato inthe Ro! ary: The fir! t Regimen of Saturn is to putrefye and put it upon Sol. From allof which it is evident that the ! en! e of the Philo! ophers when they ! peak of Saturnis quite different from the Vulgar acceptation. This Saturn generates Jupiter whichis an ob! cure Whitne!! e, and Jupiter begets upon Latona fir! t Diana which isperfect Whitene!! e, and then Apollo which is Redne!! e. And this is the ! ucce!! ivepermutation of perfect Colours. This Stone ca! t up by Saturn is ! aid to be placedupon the Top of a mountein as a monument for men, which is a thinge mo! t True.

Page 43: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 43/156

37

EM B L E M A XIII . Æs Philo ! ophorum hydropicum e ! t, & uult lauati  ! epties in fluuio,

ut Naaman lepro ! us in Iordane. (The Philo! ophers’ Bra!! e is Drop! icall and de! ires to be wa! hed ! even times in a River,

as Naaman the Leper was in Jordan.) 

EPIGRAMMA XIII.

Prætumido languens æs turget hydrope Sophorum,Inde ! alutiferas appetit illud aquas.

Unque Naman Iordane lepræ contigia mouit, Abluitur lymphis terque quaterque ! uis:

Ergo præcipites in aquam tua corpora dulcem, Moxque feret morbis illa ! alutis opem.

DISCOURSE XIII.

That Namaan the Syrian ! hould at the Prophet's command take a journey into Judea to wa! h him! elf ! even times in the River of Jordan is to be a! cribed to theconfidence he placed in the Prophet's words. But that he was freed from Lepro! y

Page 44: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 44/156

38

by that wa! hing is a miracle of the Divine Omnipotence. For the Lepro! y, being! eated in the blood and radical parts of a man's body, is as it were an univer ! allCanker, which cannot be taken away or cured by any externall wa! hing, muchle!! e by cold water ! uch as that of the Jordan.

So likewi! e that the Philo! ophers’ Bra!! e, labouring under the di! ea! e of a Drop! ie,

! hould be freed from it by wa! hings of water, and that even an imperfect thinge! hould be made perfect and a ! ick thinge healthy, and that to ! o great a degree asto be able to impart its health to ! ick bodyes, mu! t be next to a Miracle. For ! uch anexample is not el! ewhere extant in Nature; nor is it indeed the ordinary cour! e ofNature to produce the Philo! ophers’ mo! t ab! olute Tincture unle!! e it be governedby Art, and fit ! ubjects be admini! tered to it with the externall efficient. So there! titution of luxations, that is, thinges di! located or out of Joint, is not peculiar toNature but to Art. Neverthele!! e, the Os Sacrum opens it! elf miraculou! ly at thebirth of a Child, that the Infant may come forth thereby as through a door, and in

this the mo! t great and mercifull God operates by Nature above Nature.

So that the Stone ! hould be perfected ! eems a thinge ! upernaturall though it reallybe Naturall. From whence the Ro! ary: You mu! t know, ! ays he, that our Airy andVolatile Stone, according to that which is manife! t and apparent, is cold and moi! t,but according to that which is occult and hidden, is hot and dry. And thatcoldne!! e and moi! ture which is manife! t and is a Watery Fume, corrupting,blackening, and de! troying it! elf, flees from it by the Fire. But the Heat anddryne!! e which is occult is Hot and dry Gold and a mo! t pure Oile able to

penetrate bodyes, and is in no way Fugitive, becau! e the Heat and dryne!! e ofAlchemy tingeth, and no other thinge whatever. See therefore that the coldne!! eand moi! ture which is manife! t be equall to the heat and dryne!! e which is in theOccult, ! o that they may both agree and be joined together, being at once madeone penetrating, Tingeing and Fixing Body.

But the! e moi! tures mu! t be de! troyed by Fire and degrees of Fire with a ! oftTemperament and an agreeable and moderate Dige! tion. If this be True, how ! hallit be from waters? It may be an! wered, there are certain Waters of Hot and dryqualityes, ! uch as are many Baths, in which it mu! t be Philo! ophically wa! hed. Forthis is the meaning of what they ! ay, wa! h with fire and burn with water, for thatFire which wa! hes and that water which burns differ in Name only, but agree ineffect and operation. Therefore with this water or this Fire the Philo! ophickal Æsor Bra!! e mu! t be wa! hed from its ! uperfluous Humors: that is, it mu! t be dried.

We have known Experiments of Drop! icall Bodyes cured by ! ix months ab! tentionfrom all manner of Drink; or by burying them in Hot ! and and Cow dung, or byputting them into a Hot Furnace and letting them ! weat, and innumerable other

Page 45: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 45/156

39

helps as likewi! e by drying Baths ! uch as tho! e of Carl! bad or Wie! baden. By the! ame methods mu! t this patient be cured; ! ometimes by waters, ! ometimes by theHot Air of Furnaces; now with Cow dung, then with Sand and Ab! tinence fromDrinking. For the! e are the mo! t effectuall Remedyes in both Ca! es, ! ome at onetime are to be u! ed and ! ome at another. But in all the! e thinges Heat is the

Operator which, by the Emunctoria or pores of the Body, draws out the! uperfluous waters. For the outward heat quickens the inward, that is the Vitall! pirits, that they may expell that moi! ture which is hurtfull to them as anunprofitable excrement, by which the Naturall Heat was before ! uppre!! ed as byan Enemy.

In this Cure there is need of great diligence and precaution, lea! t whil! t one bowellis relieved another may be hurt. In a Quartan (which according to the Platoni! tswill try the ! kill of a Phy! itian) we have experienced that thick Vi! cous humor, likethe Gum or Glue of Trees, being gathered together from all the veins or Ma!! e of

blood, and de! cending through the Vena Cava or great Vein even to the bottom ofthe back, where it ob! tructs the emulgent Veins which draw the ! erous matter outof the blood or the pa!! ages of them. Thus they are le!! e able to operate, and moreof the ! erous matter remains in the Body, and ! o in a ! hort time if care be not takena Drop! ie may happen, the other Bowell being in no way hurt at the fir! t. HereDiuretica do little or no good, Purgatives yet le!! e unle!! e Diminution or eductionbe made in ! ome certain ! eries of time. Sudorificks manife! tly do harm becau! ethey draw out the more ! ubtile parts and leave the thicker, and if they arecontinued will weaken the body, for Nature's cu! tom is to find that way ofevacuating the ! erous matter through the Pores only when ! he is ob! tructed aboutthe Bladder. One therefore is Scylla, the other is Charybdis, both of which he that! hall hath a mind to pre! erve him! elf ought to avoid.

That Drop! ie which proceeds from an impaired Liver or ! pleen is the mo! t difficultto be cured; but in the Philo! ophickal Bra!! e the Cure is not impo!! ible, thedi! temper being rather by Accident and ! econdary than E!! entiall and primary.This is provided it be undertaken cautiou! ly, as we have ! aid concerning theplenty of Serum in a Quartan, to wit that it may not by too much excitation fall

into a Con! umption or by too much moi! ture fall into ! uch a Drop! ie as may bedifficult to be Cured. 

Page 46: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 46/156

40

EM B L E M A XIV.Hic e ! t Draco caudam ! uam devorans. 

(This is the Dragon that devours his Tayle.) 

EPIGRAMMA XIV.

Dira fames Polypos docuit ! ua rodere crura,Humanaque homines ! e nutrii !! e dape.

Dente Draco caudam dum mordet & ingeret aluo, Magnâ parte sui fit cibus ip ! e ! ibi.

Ille domandus erit ferro, fame, carcere, donecSe uoert & reuomat, se necet & pariat.

Page 47: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 47/156

41

DISCOURSE XIV.

It is the ! aying of the Ancients that a Serpent that has devoured a Serpent becomesa Dragon, for like a Thief or a Murderer it preys upon its own kind. There were! uch Serpents in Africa, of a va! t bigne!! e and in great numbers, which devoured

part of Alexander's Army- the larger are bred among the A! chæans, a people ofEthiopia, which being placed together after the manner of herds do with theirheads erected make their way to better Pa! tures. It is reported that the Kings ofIndia nouri! hed two Dragons, one of eighty the other of ninety Cubits in bigne!! e.It is remarked by the ob! ervations of later writers of the! e times that there are! erpents found near Angola which equall the main ma! t of ! hips. So there is areport that in ! ome mounteins of India and Africa there is greatne!! e of gold, butthat it is kept by Dragons lea! t any per! on ! hould come and take it away. For at thefounteins or Rivulets which fall from the mounteins the Dragons meet, and ! o by

Accident are ! aid to keep watch over the gold enclo! ed in them.

For this rea! on do the Philo! ophers a!! ign ! o many Dragons to their Trea! ury, as tothe Golden Fleece, the Garden of the He! perides, and the others per! ons orchymicall ! ubjects ! uch as Cadmus, Saturn, Æ! culapius and Mercury, who! eCaduceum is bound with two ! erpents, a male and female. For they mean nothingel! e by Dragons but Chymicall ! ubjects. Hence they ! ay, Dant Rebis montesdracones terraque fontes: Dragons to Rebis do give mounteins, And the earth doesgive him Founteins. And they denote his extreme hunger by his devouring his

Tayle, which though! ome may interpret this as the year returning into it

! elf andre! embling a Circle, yet it was fir! t applied to their work by the Philo! ophers, who

by this Dragon would have ! uch a Serpent under! tood as devours another of itsown kind, and which is properly called Sulphur, as all of them Atte! t ininnumerable places.

Thus Lully ! ays in his Codicillus, chapter 31: This my ! on (! aith he) is Sulphur, andthis the Serpent and Dragon devouring his Tayle, the rearing Lyon and ! harp! word cutting, mortifying and tearing all thinges. And the Ro! ary ! ays the Dragondoes not dye unle!! e he be killed with his Brother and Si! ter. And a little after: the

Dragon is Argent Vive, extracted out of Bodyes, having in it ! elf a Body, Soul andSpirit. This in the ! ame place by another Name is called Stinking Water, which isto be had after the ! eparation of the Elements. Now the Dragon is ! aid to devourhis Tayle when he con! umes the Voluble, Venomous and moi! t part, ! o thatafterwards being without a Tayle he may ! eem more corpulent and ! lower, as ifhis Motion and Volubility had in a great mea! ure con! i! ted in his Tayle.

Page 48: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 48/156

42

Other animalls move upon their Feet, but Serpents, Dragons and ! uch likeVermine u! e the con! triction and explication of their bodyes in! tead of feet, andlike flowing water incline them! elves ! ometimes this way, ! ometimes that, as maybe ! een in mo! t Rivers which run obliquely in Circuits and turn their cour! es likeSerpents. The Philo! ophers therefore did not without rea! on call Argent Vive by

the Name of a Serpent and give Serpents to Mercury,! eeing that al

! o does as itwere draw its Tayle and run ! ometimes this way and ! ometimes another with a

Voluble Weight. For as a Serpent moves ! o al! o does Mercury, who therefore hasWings upon his feet and Head. It is reported that in Africa there are flyingSerpents which would depopulate all places if they were not de! troyed by the Birdcalled Ibis. Wherefore Ibis is placed among the ! acred Images of the Ægyptians, asmuch for the manife! t good that it does to the whole Country as for a ! ecret rea! onwhich very few of them under! tand.

This Dragon having devoured his Tayle and ca! t his Old Skin is ! aid to acquire

both a new ! kin and new youthfulne!! e; thus Nature has granted longer life notonly to Crows, Ravens, Eagles and Larks but likewi! e to the Race of Serpents. TheAnt when it grows old has wings; ! o have many other Worms. Man growing old isput into the Earth, but brought upward from the Earth is con! ecrated to EternallLife.

There is a powder made of Every Serpent when it is burnt which is ! afely takenagain! t all poi! ons, and that with very good Effect. Such an Alexipharmacumought al! o to be made of this Dragon when he hath devoured his Tayle (which is

likewi! e u! ually cut off in Vipers) and it will prove a mo! t effectuall and pre! entRemedy again! t the adver! ityes of Body and Fortune. 

Page 49: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 49/156

43

Emblema XV.Opus figuli, con ! i ! tens in ! icco & humido, te doceat. 

(Let the work of the Potter, con! i! ting of dryne!! e and moi! ture, in! truct you.) 

EPIGRAMMA XV.

 A !  pice quàm celeri figulus ! ua ua ! a figuret Axe rotæ, argillam dum pede mi ! cet aquæ:

In binis illi e ! t fiducia rebus, ut humorPulueribus ! iccis temperet arte ! itim.

Sic quoque tu facies exemplo doctior isto,Terram aqu ne ! uperet, nec ! uperetur humo.

Page 50: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 50/156

44

DISCOURSE XV.

As this terre! trial Orb is made into one Round Body by a complication of Earthand Water, ! o likewi! e the Potter's work ! eems to be compounded of the ! ameparticular Elements; that is, the Dry and the Moi! t, ! o that one may temper the

other. For if the Earth ! hould be without Water and no Ocean, Sea, Lake, River orFountein ! hould be near it, the earth could bring forth nothing of it! elf but mu! tperpetually remain unfruitfull. So if water ! hould not be received into the cavitiesof the Earth but ! tand round about it, it would ea! ily cover the whole face of it and! o it would remain uninhabitable. But one entering amicably into the other, andwater moderating the dryne!! e of the Earth and Earth the moi! ture of the Water,by a mutual commixture the Fruitfulne!! e and advantages of both Elements dovery ! peedily appear.

In like manner the Potter mixes Clay with Water, and that ! o he may make thema!! e tractable which he ! hapes upon his wheel, and he ! ets it in warm Air ! o itmay drye lei! urely. Then he adds the Violence of Fire, that his ve!! ells may be wellhardened and conden! ed into a durable Stone which can re! i! t both Water andFire. So the Philo! ophers ! ay we mu! t proceed in the naturall work, and theytherefore ! et the Potter before us as an example; for it is certain as to the dry andmoi! t, that is the Earth and Water, that they have a very great Affinity. But there isal! o no doubt they have many differences in their way of Coction and in thematter and form of the Elements that are to be compounded. For the Potter's

Ve!! 

ells have a Form that's artificiall, but the Philo! ophick Tincture has one that isaltogether Naturall and ! o much Nobler than Theirs, as al! o the matter of it is more

excellent than theirs. Each of them is indeed the Work of Earth, but there isnothing ! aid to be in the Philo! ophickal which hath not a! cended and attained tothe Heaven of Air, whereas in the other a thick and foeculent Earth ispredominant. The effect of both is a Stone- this a Common, that a Philo ! ophickalone.

By which ! imilarities a certain Per! on being ! educed put a great Number ofArtificiall Stones or Tiles into one che! t and the whiter ! ort of flints into another,

u! ing diabolicall conjurations over them that one might be turned into Silver, theother into pure Gold. But when the! e were imagined to be the Stones of thePhilo! ophers, and after a great ! um of money has been expended in purcha! ing! everall thinges, the new gold and ! ilver which were expected at a certain time didnot appear, and none of the Stones as it was hoped received conver ! ion. Deathcame very opportunely to put an end to his ! hame and Folly; for Gold and Silver isnot to be ! ought for in the thinge wherein they are not implanted by Nature, and

Page 51: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 51/156

45

Diabolicall magick is ! o far from having any place in the! e works that it is asdi! tant from them as the Author of ! uch acts is from a devout and pious man, or asHell from Heaven.

So although a man ! hould have the True Philo! ophickal Stone, yet let not any oneimagine that impo!! ibilities can be performed by it, as I! aac admoni! hes us: no

man by Law of Nature or Policy can be bound to thinges impo!! ible. As for theTran! mutation of Gems and making Gla!! e able to endure the Hammer, any manmay know whether they are po!! ible by inve! tigating if they are agreeable toNature. Geber affirms concerning the Philo! ophers that they ! peak many thingesby allegoryes; and he ! ays of him! elf, that when he has ! poken clearly he has ! aidnothing, but when under a figure, there he has hid the Truth as Wheat underChaff.

Tho! e thinges which a man ! ows, the ! ame he ! hall reap, which ! aying takes place

in vegetables and Animalls, though different! 

pecies may! 

ometimes proceed fromthe thinges ! owed. But whether the! e thinges ought to be applied to Mettalls,which are not propagated by ! eed, is worthy of con! ideration. In the! e the parts areonly Homogenous, as Sulphur and Argent Vive; in tho! e they are Heterogeneousor organicall. In the! e are no receptacles of ! eed; in tho! e there are. In the! e is foundno Nutrition, Augmentation or Exten! ion into all Dimen! ions; but tho! e have themall to the greate! t degree. La! tly, the! e are Elemented Weights admitting nothingel! e but mixture: whereas they be! ides Mixture have al! o a Vegetative or ! en! itiveSoul. Neverthele!! e it is True without doubt that there is ! omething in places

under the Earth which as yet is not Gold, but by nature will become gold after athou! and years. And who will deny this to be the Analogicall Seed of Gold? BothGold and the Aurifick Nature are of one originall, though the latter be of the moreNoble form; and therefore the ! eed of Gold being known, the ! eed of the other willlikewi! e be known. The Philo! ophers affirm that it is the Dry and Moi! t that isSulphur and Argent Vive, and that it is to be extracted out of two Mounteins inthe greate! t Purity. 

Page 52: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 52/156

46

Emblema XVI.Hic Lèo, quas plumas non habet, alter habet. 

(One Lyon hath wings and the other hath none.) 

EPIGRAMMA XVI.

Victor quadrupedum Leo pectore fortis & ungue Ab ! que metu pugnat, di !! imulatque fugam: Aligeram cui tu pedibus coniunge Leænam,

Quæ uolat & ! ecum uult releuare marem:Ille ! ed immotus ! tat humo, retinetque uolantem,

Hæc tibi naturæ mo ! stret imago uiam.

Page 53: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 53/156

Page 54: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 54/156

48

to flye away and He retards her, He is incited with a greater Love towards her,and a firmer friend! hip is contracted after ! uch a Variance.

But you will a! k, whoever ! aw a Lyone!! e with wings? Or what u! e can be made ofher plumes? There is a deep Valley near the Mountein Cythæronem in which are! een none but flying Lyone!! es. But to the Top of that Mountein there re! orts a Red

Lyon, of the ! ame kind as that which was ! lain by Hercules. The Lyon thereforemu! t be taken and brought into the valley, and then immediately He will becoupled with the winged Lyone!! e. She al! o will ea! ily ! uffer her! elf to beovercome, becau! e like will be ! educed by like. Afterwards they mu! t both beadvanced out the ! aid Valley to the Top of the Mountein, and henceforth they willnever de! ert one another but will always remain together in inviolable wedlock.The taking of the! e Lyons I confe!! e is not ea! y, but Lyable to many dangers. Butneverthele!! e it mu! t be attempted. A Lyon feeds not with the Lyone!! e, butwanders apart as Tradition relates; therefore they are to be ! ought and hunted for

in different places. But if the! e two Lyons can be taken when they are Whelps,when their Claws fir! t appear and they begin to walke which is two months aftertheir Birth, then afterwards they may be joined upon their coming to riper Age,and the whole matter will be effected without any danger. But they are born in theSpring time, which requires the clo! e! t ob! ervation; ! eeing the Lyons afterwhelping u! e cro!! e and winding wayes lea! t their Den ! hould be found out, greatCare and diligence mu! t be u! ed to ! eek them and deprive them of their whelps. 

Page 55: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 55/156

49

Emblema XVII .Orbita quadruplex hoc regit ignis opus. 

(Four Orbs govern this work of fire.) 

EPIGRAMMA XVII.

Naturæ qui imitaris opus, tibi quattuor orbesQuærendi, interius quos leuis ignis agat.

Imus Vulcanum referat, bene monstret at alter Mercurium, Lunam tertius orbis habet:

Quartus, Apollo, tuus, naturæ auditur & ignis,Ducat in arte manus illa catena tuas.

Page 56: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 56/156

50

DISCOURSE XVII.

The Philo! ophers in many places make mention of four ! orts of fire nece!! ary to theNaturall work, namely Lully, the Author of the Scala, Ripley, and many others.The Scala ! ays that Raymund ! peaks thus of fires: It is to be remarked that here lye

contrary operations, becau! e as the fire contrary to Nature doth di!! olve the ! piritof a fixed body into the water of a Cloud, and binds the body of a volatile Spiritinto a congealed Earth, ! o contrarywi! e the fire of Nature congeals the di!! olved! pirit of a fixed body into a Globular Earth, and re! olves the body of the volatileSpirit fixed by the fire contrary to Nature, not into the water of a Cloud, but intoPhilo! ophickal water.

Ripley ! peaks more clearly of the! e fires.Gate 3, Stanza 15:Foure Fyers there be whych you mu! t under! tond,

Naturall, Innaturall, again! t Nature, al

! oeElementall whych doth bren the brond.

The! e foure Fyers u! e we and no mo:Fyre again! t Nature mu! t doe thy bodyes wo;That ys our Dragon as I thee tell,Fer! ely brennyng as Fyre of Hell.

16. Fyre of Nature ys the thyrd Men! truall,That Fyre ys naturally in every thyng;But Fyre occa! ionat we call Innaturall,And hete of A! kys and balnys for putrefying:

Wythout the! e Fyres thou may not bryngTo Putrefaccyon for to be ! eperat,Thy matters togeather proportyonat.

17. Therefore make Fyre thy Gla!! e wythin,Whych brennyth the Bodyes more then FyreElementall; yf thou wylt wynOur Secret accordyng to thy de! yreThen ! hall thy ! eeds both roote and ! pyre,By help of Fyre Occa! ionat,That kyndly after they may ! eparat.

They are called Fires becau! e they have a Fiery Virtue; the Naturall in coagulating,the Unnatural in Di!! olving, The Fire again! t Nature in corrupting and theElementary in admini! tering heat and the fir! t motion. And there is an orderob! erved in them like that of a Chain, that the ! econd may be incited to action bythe fir! t, the third by the ! econd, and the fourth by the third and fir! t, ! o that one beboth Agent and Patient in a different re! pect. That which is ob! erved of Iron ringsheld together by a Magnet and joined by mutuall contact may be ! een likewi! e inthe! e Fires. For the Elementary like a magnet doth ! end forth its virtue through the

Page 57: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 57/156

51

! econd and third even into the fourth, and joins one to the other by mutualloperations, and cau! es them to cohere together till internall action be effectedamong! t the uppermo! t. The fir! t is Elementary Fire both in Name and ! ub! tance,the ! econd is æriall or volatile, the third is watery or of the Nature of Luna, thefourth is Earthy. There is no need of ! peaking of the fir! t becau! e it is pre! ent toevery man's ! ight and feeling. The other three are the Dragons, Men! truums,

Waters, Sulphurs or Mercuryes. Dragons becau! e partaking of venom they devourSerpents of their own race and alter whatever bodyes are mixed with them, that is,di!! olve and coagulate them. They are called Men! truums becau! e thePhilo! ophers’ Infant is produced and nouri! hed from them till the time of hisBirth. Lully in his book of Quinta E!! entia, ver! e 3, has a double men! truum, aVegetable and a Minerall. Ripley in the preface to his Gates has three which agreeand are but one in reality. For the generation of the Infant is made from them all,and white water precedes its birth which is not of the ! ub! tance but of the! uperfluity of the Infant, and therefore is to be ! eparated.

They are waters becau! e in Fire they ! how a watery Nature, that is they flow andare liquid which are propertyes of water. It is certain that the propertyes of Waterare diver! e and wonderfull, ! ome whereof do petrifye, being coagulated into hard! tones ! uitable for building. Not unlike the! e are the minerall waters of thePhilo! ophers, which grow harder and turn into a ! tony re! i! tance.

They are likewi! e called Sulphur from the Sulphurous virtue which they have inthem. For the Sulphur of Nature is mixed and made one with the other Sulphur,and the two Sulphurs are di!! olved by one, and one is ! eparated by two and theSulphurs are contained by the Sulphurs, as Yximidius ! ays in the Turba. Now

what Sulphurs are Dardaris in the ! ame place declares in the! e words: Sulphursare ! ouls hidden in the four Elements, which being extracted by Art do naturallycontain one another and are joined together. But if you can by water govern andwell purifye that which is hidden in the Belly of the Sulphur, that hidden thingemeeting with its own Nature rejoineth it, even as water with its like. Mo! ius al! o! ayeth: I will now tell you what it is. One indeed is Argent Vive and that Fiery, the! econd is a Body compounded in it, the third is the water of Sulphur by which it isfir! t wa! hed, corroded and governed till the whole work is perfected. What hasbeen ! aid of Sulphurs, the ! ame mu! t be under! tood of ! o many Mercuryes, for ! o! 

ays the! 

ame Mo! 

ius: Argent Vive, Cambar, is Magne! 

ia, but Argent Vive orOrpiment is Sulphur, which a! cends from a mixed compound. But I ! hall produceno more Te! timonyes becau! e they are infinite. The! e four Fires are included infour Orbs or Spheres; that is, each has its particular Centre from which and towhich their motions tend. But neverthele!! e they are kept ! o bound together,partly by Nature and partly by Art, that the one can operate little or nothingwithout the other, ! o that the Action of the one is the Pa!! ion of the other, and ! othe contrary. 

Page 58: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 58/156

52

Emblema XVIII .Ignire ignis amat, non aurificare, ! ed aurum. 

(Fire loves making thinges fiery, but unlike gold, it does not make gold.) 

EPIGRAMMA XVIII.

Si quod agens fuerit naturæ, mittit in orbemVires atque ! uas multiplicare cupit.

Oba sic ignis facit ignea cuncta, nec e ! t res, Ab ! que ! ua cau ! a, nobile quæ det opus.

 Aurum nil ignit per se, nilignis inaurat,Quodlibet agno ! cit quod ! ibi ! emen inest.

Page 59: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 59/156

Page 60: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 60/156

54

undoubtedly was effected by the revocation of the di! per! ed virtues into onepoint, or by the attraction of them from a greater body into a le!! e.

There are others who affirm that a Leadmaking Stone may be made of theSulphurous breath of Saturn, infu! ed and retained by common Mercury, till it becoagulated; which immediately turns Common Mercury into Lead. Some boa! t

that they can from Antimony or its Stellated Regulus make Copper from the Fumeof Copper in as ! hort a ! pace as a man can eat an Egge; and further, that they havemade all metalls in ! uch a way. I will not detract from their reputations, though tome it does not ! eem probable. I know not whether they are more confident or! ucce!! full who endeavour to deduce gold from gold, according to the ! aying ofthe Porta Aureus: He that de! ires Barley ! owes only Barley, In Gold are the ! eedsof Gold. Every naturall thinge hath indeed a virtue of multiplying it! elf, but this isbrought into action in vegetables and Animalls only, not in Metalls, Mineralls,Earthy Fo!! ils or meteors. Some plants ! prung from a ! mall grain of ! eed do often

times yield a thou! and ! eeds or more, and ! o multiply and propagate them! elves;and ! o yearly Animalls al! o have their product in greater or le!! er Number,according to each of their Natures. But Gold, Silver, Lead, Tin, Iron, Copper orArgent Vive are never known to multiply them! elves or their kind after thatmanner, although it is often found that one may be commuted into another andmade more noble. Neverthele! s the Philo! ophers affirm that the principle ofignifying is in fire, and ! o that of Aurifying is in Gold. But the tincture mu! t be! ought for by who! e Intermediation Gold is to be made. You mu! t ! earch for this inits own proper principles and generations and not in thinges of another Nature;for if Fire produceth Fire, a Pear a Pear, a Hor! e a Hor! e, then Lead will generateLead and not Silver, Gold will Generate Gold and not the Tincture. But be ! ides allthis the Philo! ophers have a peculiar Gold which they do not deny mu! t be addedto the Aurifick Stone as a Ferment at the End of the Work, ! eeing it leads thethinge fermented into its own Nature, without which the whole compo! itionwould never return to Perfection.

Page 61: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 61/156

55

Emblema XIX.Si de quattuor unum occidas,  ! ubitò mortuus omnis erit. 

(If you kill one of the four, they will all ! uddenly dye.) 

EPIGRAMMA XIX.

Bis duo ! tant fratres longo ordine, pondera terræQuorum unus dextra ! u ! tinet, alter aquæ: Aëris atque ignis reliquis est portio, ! i uisVt pereant, unum tu modo morte premas:Et con ! anguineo tollentur funere cuncti,

Naturæ quia eos mutua uincla ligant.

Page 62: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 62/156

56

DISCOURSE XIX.

The Poets feign that Geryon, King of Spain, con! i! ted of three bodyes, and that hehad Oxen of a Purple Colour and that a Dogg with two heads and a Dragon with! even were ! et over them to watch them. The ! ame Geryon is reported to be the

Son of Chry! aor, ! prung from the blood of Medu! a as the Dragon was from that ofTyphon and Echidna. But ! ince all the! e agree neither with Hi! tory nor the Truth,and yet fall in exactly with the Chymicall Allegories, we think we have reducedthem to that proper head by applying them to that Subject. For by the threefoldbody of Geryon we under! tand three Faces beheld in one Father according to the! en! e of Hermes, or as others would have it four Faces, they having regard to thefour Elements, for a Triangle mu! t be made of a Quadrangle as that was made of aCircle, and ! o this mu! t return into a Circle. Now there is ! o great a con! anguinityand naturall conjunction of the Bodyes of Geryon or the Elements that one being

overcome and ! lain, the re! t al! o dye of them! elves and putrefye without theapplication of any Manuall Force.

As to thinges with two bodyes, it is well known that one being dead the otherWa! tes and con! umes, as we ! aw in Italy of a boy of four years old who had twobodyes: the head of one Brother was hid within the body of the other, and wasfixed to him ju! t at the Navel, and ! o hung down from thence, and being muchle!! e than him was carryed about by him. If you pre!! ed the hands or feet of thele!! er more hard than ordinary, the bigger felt the pain; nay, and hunger too, when

the belly of the latter was Empty for want of Su! tenance. And this is theCombination and Sympathy of Nature, whereby the members and parts of one

and the ! ame body, or of a body joined and born with another, are mutuallymoved and affected together, whereof if one be ! ound and unhurt it is notnece!! ary that the others ! hould ! o remain. But if one be grievou! ly hurt, the re! t doal! o ! ympathi! e and peri! h by the ! ame malady. So if one Neighbour gains muchmoney, yet no profit accrues thereby to another of his Neighbours, but if he ! ufferslo!! e by Fire his neighbour receives much damage- for your affairs are in dangerwhen the next hou! e has taken fire. Therefore it is in no way repugnant to Truth

that from the death of one of the! e brothers, the de! truction of the re! t ! houldhappen. This may come to pa!! e by diver! e means, either becau! e they were bornat the ! ame birth from one father and mother, and therefore as they had the ! amebeginning, ! o likewi! e they have the ! ame period of their dayes- which thinge (aswe have read) has happened to ! ome per! ons. Or perhaps by the inclination of theStarrs, or by being joined together not only in their Souls but al! o in the Ligaments

Page 63: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 63/156

57

of their bodyes, or by a con! ternation of mind ! uch as ! trong imagination in time ofpe! tilence, or by the Vow of a League.

In the Indies, under the Dominions of the great Mogul (he that now reigns beingthe ninth ! ucce!! or from Tamerlane), there are certain Gentiles who go by theName of Pythagoreans, among whom this Ancient cu! tom is ob! erved: that if the

Hu! band dye, the wife is burnt with fire, or lives in perpetuall infamy de! erted byall and e! teemed as a Dead woman. Which was therefore ordained that wivesmight be afraid of poi! oning their Hu! bands unle!! e they al! o are re! olved to dyewith them.

So in the Philo! ophickal Work when one brother is dead, the others peri! h byFires, not compelled but Voluntarily, that they may not ! urvive in infamy and! orrow. Or if one be a!! aulted with a Club, Sword or Stone he will rai! e a Civil warwith his brethren, as in tho! e Gyants ! prung out of the Earth who were born from

Dragons’ Teeth to oppo! 

e Ja! 

on, and who at another time and place ro! 

e up to re! 

i! 

tCadmus. In this manner will all of them fall by a mutuall de! truction of oneanother. For touch or hurt him that carryes Air, and he will ri! e up again! t twotogether that are neare! t him, namely again! t him which carries Water and himthat carries Fire. And the! e will on both ! ides oppo! e them! elves again! t him thatcarries Earth and him that fir! t promoted the quarrell, till they have receivedmutuall wounds of which they will dye. For it is thus re! olved among the brothersthat the more earne! tly and vehemently they love one another, ! o if once theybegin to hate their anger ! hall be more implacable and not be appea! ed but by

death. This can be compared to the ! weete! t honey which, in a Stomach too hot orLiver corrupted, is turned into the mo! t bitter Gall.

Kill him therefore that is alive, but ! o that you may bring him to life again when heis dead, otherwi! e his death will not avail you. For his death will be an advantageto him after his re! urrection, and Death and darkne!! e and the Sea will fly fromhim as Hermes te! tifies in Capitulum 3 of the Tractatus Aureus, ver! e IX: And theDragon which ob! erved the Holes will fly from the rayes of the Sun, and our dead! on liveth and the King cometh from the Fire. Belinus in his Metaphor in theRo! ary mentions the ! ame thinge: And let this be done when you have drawn mepartly from my Nature, and my wife partly from her Nature- you mu! t then al! okill the Natures, and we are rai! ed up with a new incorporeall re! urrection ! o thatafterwards we cannot dye.

Page 64: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 64/156

58

Emblema XX.Naturam natura docet, debellet ut ignem. 

(Nature teaches Nature how to ! ubdue Fire.) 

EPIGRAMMA XX.

Flamma, uorat quæ cuncta, uelut Draco, grauiter ur  ! itVirginis eximium ui ! uperare decus:

Hinc lachrymis ! uffusa uiro dum forte uidetur,Ille fuit mi ! eræ ferre paratus opem.

Protinus hanc clypeo uelans contendit in hostem,Et docuit tantas !  pernere mente minas.

Page 65: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 65/156

59

DISCOURSE XX.

The common token and ! ymbol by which the Philo! ophers may know one anotheris: That Nature is guided, taught, governed and ! ubdued by Nature, as a Schollarby a Mi! tre!! e, a Waiting Maid by her Lady, a Subject by a Queen, a Daughter by a

Mother or a Kin! woman by a Kin! woman. The truth of this appears by dailyexperience in the Education of Youth among! t men, the In! titutions of Learning,Government and the like. Pliny writes of Nightingales that one teaches, attends,ob! erves, imitates and overcomes another in ! inging, or being overcome laments,and that ! ometimes being Vanqui! hed in the conflict and her throat torn with hernotes ! he peri! hes and falls down dead in the mid! t of her ! inging. We ! ee al! o howall ! orts of birds begin to in! truct and accu! tom their young ones, being yet tenderand not quite fledged, how to flye. So it is not only Nature but Art and U! e thatbrings them to the habit of flying, though Nature alone gave power and organs for

the exerci! ing of that Action, without which no Art or In! titution can find place orFoundation. So Colts are taught to run by the Mare, Whelps to bark by the Bitch,and young Foxes to be cunning by their Den. Nor is there any animated or! en! itive Nature or ! pecies of Nature which does not guide, in! truct and governanother Nature, which is its off! pring, or el! e ! uffer it! elf to be overcome byanother Nature as a Parent.

We do not find ! uch di! cipline in Vegetables, but the u! e and handywork of Man isob! erved to prevail much upon them. For whil! t the Corn is in the blade it may be

clean! ed from Tares and unprofitable Thi

! tles; whil

! t a tree is yet a Twig it may bebent and made to grow as you plea! e; and ! o in Metalls and Philo! ophickal

! ubjects, one nature keeps, pre! erves and defends another Nature in Fire, as isknown to Founders and Refiners but e! pecially to Ma! ters of Naturall thinges.Iron added to ! ilver or gold, being yet very tender and ! pirituall, mixed in itsmines with Cadmia, Ar! enick or depredating, devouring Antimony, becomes veryhelpfull and performs the part of a midwife if it be ca! t upon the minerals to beburnt in the Fire of Furnaces. After the ! ame manner, when Iron it! elf is to bechanged into Steel, it is ! aved from burning by ! ome white Stones that are found

upon the Sea! hore. Some do ca! t the powders of Chry! tall gla!! e or the gall of gla!! eupon metallick powder to be di!! olved, that they may not peri! h by overmuchFire. For this purpo! e the Philo! ophers u! e Eudica, which Morienus Romanus ! aysis the gall of gla!! e and to be had in gla!! e ve!! els. For the heat of Fire con! umes thebody with ha! ty burning, but when Eudica is applied it will cure bodyes changedinto Earth from any burning. For when bodyes do no longer retein their ! ouls theyare ! oon burnt. Eudica (the Faex of Gla!! e) is indeed agreeable to all bodyes, for it

Page 66: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 66/156

60

revives and prepares them and defends them from all burning. This therefore isthe nature which teaches another Nature to fight again! t Fire and to be inured toFire; this is the Mi! tre!! e that in! tructs the Schollar, and if you con! ider well, theQueen governing the Subject and the Daughter giving Honour to her Mother. Thisis the Red ! ervant which is joined in Matrimony with his Odoriferous Mother, and

of her begets a progeny far more noble than its Parents. This is Pyrrhus! on ofAchilles, the young man with Red Hair, golden ve! tments, Black Eyes and white

feet. This is the Knight that has the Torque or Collar about him, armed with a! word and ! hield again! t the dragon that he may re! cue from his jaws the pure andunviolated Virgin named Albifica, Beya or Blanca. This is the mon! ter-killingHercules who freed He! ione the Daughter of Laomedon from that mon! trouswhale which ! he was expo! ed to. This is that Per! eus who, by ! howing the Head ofMedu! a, defended Andromedes the Daughter of Ca!! iope and Cepheus King ofthe Ethiopians from a ! ea mon! ter, and having freed her from her chains

afterwards married her. This is He that may be compared with tho! e AncientRomans, the Re! torers and Deliverers of their Country: M. Curtio, L. Scævola,Horatio Coclite, Manlio Capitolino and the re! t, who can free a city as well as hismother from Dangers. For this is the way and method of Nature, tending to theperfection of any work. She deduces one thinge from another and a more perfectthinge from an imperfect, making an Act out of a Power; but ! he does not fini! h allin a moment, but by doing one thinge after another at la! t arrives at her End. Nordoes ! he do this alone, but ! he likewi! e in the fir! t place con! titutes her! elf a Deputyto whom ! he leaves the Power of life and death, that is the power of Forming other

thinges. For example, in the generation of a man ! he u! es a long proce!! e of tenmonths. But according to Ari! totle ! he fir! t frames the Heart as her Deputy andthe Principall organ, and then the Heart delineates forms and perfects the othermembers which are nece!! ary to nutrition, life, ! en! e and the generating power,and imparts to them life and vivifying ! pirits by its Sy! tole and Dia! tole; that is, bythe dilating and compre!! ing of Arteries, ! o long as it is not hindered by di! ea! esand violence. And ! o one nature teaches another, which you mu! t remark andfollow as the mo! t clear example of the Philo! ophickal Work. 

Page 67: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 67/156

61

Emblema XXI .Fac ex mare & fœmina circulum, inde quadrangulum, hinc triangulum,

 fac circulum & habebis lap. Philo ! ophorum. (Make of the man and woman a Circle, of that a Quadrangle, of this a Triangle, of the ! ame

a Circle and you will have the Stone of the Philo! ophers.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXI.

Fœmina masque unus fiant tibi circulus, ex quoSurgat, habens æquum forma quadrata latus.

Hinc Trigonum ducas, omni qui parte rotundamIn !  phæram redeat: Tum Lapis ortus erit.

Si res tanta tuæ non mox uenit ob uia menti,Dogma Geometræ ! i capis, omne ! ceies. 

Page 68: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 68/156

62

DISCOURSE XXI.

Plato that mo! t Excellent Philo! opher was of the Opinion that tho! e notions orIdeas which are the Foundations of Arts and Sciences are as it were actuallyengraved and imprinted upon the mind of Man, and that by the Repetition and

remembrance of them he can apprehend and know all manner of learning. Toprove this he introduced a young Lad, rude and unin! tructed, and a! ked him ! uchGeometricall Que! tions that the Youth might be perceived to an! wer right whetherhe will or no, and although before he under! tood nothing of the matter, yet bythe! e an! wers ! eemed to have penetrated into the Depths of ! o ab! tru! e a Science.From whence he concluded that in children all Di! cipline and Doctrine is not atfir! t taken in and learnt, but called to mind and brought by the memory, alludingby this to his Annus Magnus or Great Year, of which he ! ays that forty eightthou! and ! olar Years agoe, before the Revolution of the Heaven, the ! ame per! ons,

thinges and actions were then in being which are at the pre! ent time, when! oeverthat is. But every per! on may perceive that the! e thinges have no morefoundations of truth in them than mere dreams. We do not deny that there are! ome ! parks of notions and mere powers imprinted in us, which mu! t be reducedinto act by in! titution, but we utterly deny that they are ! uch or ! o great as to bethe Summaries of Arts and Sciences without any precedent in! truction.

It will then be a! ked from whence Arts and Sciences have proceeded if men havenot invented them, or whether they were not at fir! t delivered from Heaven by the

God of the Nations. I an! wer by

! aying that burning Coals may lye hid underA! hes in ! o great a quantity that if the A! hes were but removed they would be

! ufficient for the dre!! ing of meat or warming one! elf; but this is a different thingefrom affirming that only ! ome ! mall ! park lyes there, which before it can be of u! eand admini! ter a ! ufficient heat mu! t be cheri! hed and nouri! hed with fre! h fewellby human Act, Care and Indu! try, or otherwi! e it would be ea! ily extingui! hed.The Ari! totelicks a!! ert the latter as the Platonicks do the former. Rea! on andExperience ! eem to agree with this latter, whereas the fir! t depends only uponImagination and Phan! y. Here it may be a! ked why Plato wrote over the Door of

his ! chool that no one ignorant of Geometry was there to be admitted, ! eeing heaffirmed that little boys did actually know it. Are men more unlearned than boys?Or when they grow up, do they forget what they knew when children? Thatcannot be ! uppo! ed, for we ! ee that Brutes do by the in! tinct of Nature as ! oon asthey are brought forth abhor and avoid the danger of Fire, Water, Precipices andthe like. Yet an infant neither knows nor ! huns ! uch thinges. Why do not the Bee,Fly and Gnatt precipitate them! elves into the Fire, ! eeing that they cannot know by

Page 69: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 69/156

63

experience that danger will ari! e from it? Becau! e nature has taught them, but ! hehas not done ! o by man when he is newly born. If Geometry is ! o ea! y and naturallto children, how comes it to pa!! e that Plato did not know the Quadrature of aCircle, ! o that Ari! totle who was his ! chollar affirms that it might be known butwas not yet known?

But that this was not unknown to the Philo! ophers of Nature is apparent fromthis: That they command a Circle to be turned into a Quadrangle, and this by aTriangle to be reduced again to a Circle. By a circle they under! tand the mo! t! imple body without angles, as by the Quadrangle they do the four Elements. It isas if they ! hould ! ay: The mo! t ! imple corporeal Figure that can be found is to betaken and divided into four Elementall Colours, becoming an EquilaterallQuadrangle. Now every man under! tands that this Quadration is Phy! icall andagreeable to Nature, by which far more benefit accrues to the Publick, and morelight appears to the mind of Man, than by any meere Theory of Mathematicks

when ab! tracted from Matter. To learn this perfectly a Geometrician acting upon! olid bodyes mu! t enquire what is the depth of ! olid Figures, as for example theProfundity of Sphere and Cube mu! t be knowne and tran! ferred to manuall u! eand practice. If the Capacity or Circumference of the ! phere be 32 foot, how muchwill one of the ! ides of the Cube be to Equalize the Capacity of this Sphere? On thecontrary, one might look back from the Mea! ures which the Cube contains to thefeet of each Circumference.

In like manner the Philo! ophers would have the Quadrangle reduced into a

Triangle, that is, into a Body, Spirit and Soul, which three appear in the threeprevious colours before Redne!! e: that is, the Body or earth in the Blackne!! e ofSaturn, the Spirit in the Lunar whitene!! e as water, and the Soul or air in the SolarCitrinity. Then the Triangle will be perfect, but this again mu! t be changed into aCircle; that is, into an invariable redne!! e, by which operation the woman isconverted into the man and made one with him, and ! ix the fir! t of the perfectnumbers is ab! olved by one, two having returned again to an unity in which thereis Re! t and eternall peace.

Page 70: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 70/156

64

EM B L E M A XXII .Plumbo nabito candido fac opus mulierum, hoc e ! t, COQUE. 

(Having acquired White Lead, do the work of women, that is: Cook.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXII.

Quisquis amas facili multum præ ! tare labore,Saturni in faciem (quæ nigra) !  parge niues:Et dabitur tibi materies albi !! ima plumbi,Po ! t quod, fœmineum nil nisi re ! tat opus.

Tum coque, ceu mulier, quæ collocat ignibus ollas,Fac ! ed ut in propriis Truta lique ! cat aquis.

Page 71: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 71/156

65

DISCOURSE XXII.

As the ! tatues of Mercury u! ed to be erected where three ways met, within! criptions upon them to guide dubious Travellers into the true way, ! o there are! everall remarkable ! entences delivered by the Philo! ophers (although they be

! cattered up and down in their ob! cure books and allegorical writings) which willdirect the Inquirers after Truth and lead them as it were by the hand into the rightpath. The pre! ent Emblematicall in! cription is one of the! e. The meaning whereofis that Lead mu! t be made of the Philo! ophickal Bra!! e, and Tin of that Lead whichby Geber is called White Lead, who likewi! e teaches us how, by wa! hing, Saturntogether with Mercury may pa!! e into Jupiter.

Wherefore credit is to be given to this Index or direction, although it is ! poken byBattus: if at any time thou would! t di! cover the Philo! ophickal Oxen and whatplace they frequent, they are in the mounteins and under the mounteins. Formany men affirm this, as Arnold in his Novum Lumen, Capitulum 1: That Per! onswandering in the mounteins know not the! e Animalls, but they are openly ! old ata very ! mall price. In the Highe! t mounteins Snow and Clouds are mo! t commonlyfound even in Summer, by which as it were by vapour and water, black lead iswa! hed and turned into whitene!! e. But in the lowe! t Valleys and their mines theirChry! talls are found congealed and hardened out of ice, i.e. the Lapis Specularis,which with Talc is commended for making the Face white and beautifull if anOyle be made thereof.

But chiefly there is to be found clear and running Mercury, which being wellprepared mends the Blemi! hes of Saturn and advanceth Him into the Throne of

 Jupiter. However, this is not to be under! tood of Saturn and Jupiter as they arecommonly found (for common Mettalls do not enter into the Phy! icall work). Butit is ! aid of them, when purged by a long preparation and made Phy! icall, thatSaturn is the Father of all the Gentiles or rather of all ! earchers after the GoldenWork and the fir! t Gate of Secrets. By him (! ays Rha! is in his Epi! tle) the Gates ofSciences are opened, to him ! ucceeds his ! on Jupiter who expelled his Father out ofhis Kingdom and di! membered him lea! t he ! hould begett more Sons, and from

that member cut off and thrown into the Sea Venus the mo! t Beautifull of femalesis born. From Jupiter, who is White Lead prepared, the re! t of the planets areproduced; as Mars from Juno, Mercury from Maia the daughter of Atlas (amountein in Mauritania), Luna and Sol from Latona. Which four are brought intothe Light by Coction only, which is the work of women.

By Coction is under! tood the Maturation and Di! per! ion of the more Crude parts,which is performed by Vulcan in the Ve!! ells of Philo! ophye. For it is not to be

Page 72: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 72/156

66

! uppo! ed that it is common boyling which is the method of operation; it agreeswith that only as to its end or intent. For as a woman Matures Fi! h in waters- thatis, by re! olving all ! uperfluous moi! ture from them into Waters and Air, ! oftens,boyles and ! eethes them- ! o the philo! opher handles his ! ubject in proper waterwhich is ! tronger than the Sharpe! t Vinegar by Macerating, Liquifying, Solving,

Coagulating and Mixing it in the Ve!! 

ell of Hermes, the joints of which as it isrequi! ite are mo! t ! trictly clo! ed, lea! t the water exhale and that which is in theVe!! ell be burnt. This is that Ve!! ell above the Ve!! ell, and the Philo! ophers’ Pott-the Balneum Laconicum or Vaporous Bath- in which the old man ! weats.

Some there are who Boyle Fi! h, Lob! ters, Crabs and Green Peas in a double Pott, ! othat the thinges before mentioned are placed in the upper Pott, Water being onlyin the Lower, and the Potts placed one above the other with orbs lea! t the vapour! hould come forth. By which means the Vapour of the Water a! cending onlypenetrates and matures the thinges contained, and makes them much more

perfectly ! oft and tender than if they had been boyled in water. This is the mo! tLaudable way of the Philo! ophers, whereby they ! often that which is hard, di!! olvethat which is compact and rarifye that which is Thick. For it is Air or an in! en! ibleVapour which matures, decocts and perfects the fruit of Trees, and not waterCrude and Cold as it is. It is Air al! o which Tinges and Colours the Golden Applesin the Garden of the He! perides. For if it is well con! idered, the Ebullition of Waterwhereby raw fle! h is boyled till it be fit to eat is nothing el ! e but rarefaction ofwaters; which bubbles ea! ily vani! h away, the Air betaking it! elf from the Watersto its own Sphere, and the Water ! ub! iding into its own Centre. 

Page 73: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 73/156

67

EM B L E M A XXIII . Aurum pluit, dum na ! citur Pallas Rhodi, & Sol concumbit Veneri. 

(When Pallas was born and Sol was in Conjunction with Venus it rained gold at Rhodes.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXIII.

Res e ! t mira, fidem fecit ! ed Græcia nobisEius, apud Rhodios quæ celebrata fuit.

Nubibus Aureolus, referunt, quòd decidit imber,Sol ubi erat Cypriæ iunctus amore Deæ:

Tum quoque, cum Pallas cerebro Iouis excidit, durumVa ! e ! uo pluuiæ ! ic cadat in ! tar aquæ.

Page 74: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 74/156

68

DISCOURSE XXIII.

Unle!! e it were to be under! tood Allegorically it would be madne!! e to affirm thatGold ever rained upon the Earth. For there are no Gold-bearing Rivers, nor Minesin the Clouds that it may po!! ibly be ! aid to be produced there; nor is gold of ! o

little a weight that it may be thought to be attracted thither by Vapours. But aTrope admitts and excu! es all the! e thinges. For ! o truly as Pallas actually ! prangfrom the brain of Jupiter and Sol was joined in Adultery with Venus, ! o truly al! ofell Golden Showers- not as if we any ways doubt that both the ! e have happened,but that we may remove the literal and vulgar ! en! e from thinges that are ! pokenAllegorically. For if we follow the plain words of this Emblem there is nothingmore ab! urd, but if we attend to the meaning there can be nothing more true. NowRhodes is an i! land, at fir! t called Ophiu! a from the Multitude of Serpents, thenRhodes from the Gardens of Ro! es which flouri! hed there, and la! tly Colo!! icola

from the Colo!! us of the Sun, which being there was e! teemed one of the ! evenwonders of the world. Hence the Ancient Philo! ophers, ! eeing that their Mercuriallmatter when it is Crude has the re! emblance of a ! erpent, but after it is preparedand decocted a!! umes to it! elf the purple colour of a Ro! e, have taken ! everall oftheir Similitudes from this I! land of Rhodes, and for the ! ame rea! on a! cribed to itthat Golden ! hower which fell upon Apollo's conjunction with Venus.

This being at fir! t ! poken figuratively gave the Rhodeians a pretence to growNaughty upon their imagination that ! uch great Deityes ! hould de! ire to have an

off! pring conceived upon their I

! land, and therefore they erected an Idol to theSun of a mo! t Stupendous Value and Magnitude. For that Colo!! us as Hi! tory

relates was ! eventy Cubits high, and ! o placed that ! hips under full ! ail might pa!! ebetween the legs. Its fingers were as big as ordinary Statues, and few men couldembrace its thumb. The Arti! t was Chares Lyndius the Di! ciple of Ly! ippus whowas twelve years in the fini! hing of it. After it had ! tood fifty and ! ix years it wasoverthrown by an Earthquake, and yet as it lay pro! trate was ! till thoughtwonderous. When the Soldan of Ægypt conquered Rhodes he is reported to haveladen nine hundred Camells with the Bra!! e of this Statue.

What Sol is among the Planets, ! ay the Philo! ophers, that is gold among theMetalls; and this is chiefly appropriated to the Sun in the re! pect of its Heat,Colour, Virtue and E!! ence. Hence a golden rain is a! cribed to the generation of theSun, and little Suns are conceived by Venus. For Venus has a Ro! y colour in herFace, which if it be infu! ed into the ! eed of Sol the off! pring which is henceproduced mu! t really be born at Rhodes. For the Son of the Philo! ophers isbeautifull, and like Ro! es He draws and allures the Eyes and minds of all men. He

Page 75: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 75/156

69

de! erves love, therefore it is not ! trange that at his birth Miracles ! hould happen,for he is afterwards to be miraculous in all his works and to rai! e up a ! hower ofGold. He is brother of Augias the Son of Sol who had oxen for his patrimony, theDung of whom in one dayes time was purged away by Hercules. He is al! o theBrother of Æetes who po!! e!! ed the Golden Fleece later obtained by Ja! on.

It is reported of Pallas that ! he was born from the Brain of Jupiter without aMother, and that ! he was called Tritonia becau! e ! he was brought forth near theRiver Triton. She is feigned to be the Godde! s of Wi! dom and is not unde! ervedly! o e! teemed, ! eeing ! he ! prings from the Brain which is the Seat of it. Golden! howers did likewi! e ! ignifye her birth day at Rhodes, that ! o the time of hercoming into this Light might remain in the memory of mankind. For as at the timeof a publick rejoycing, whether it be the Coronation of a King or the Birth of aPrince, there are gold medalls thrown among the people, ! o the ! ame was done atthe birth of Pallas. For Pallas is Sophia or Wi! dom, who carries health in her right

hand and riches in her left, providing at the ! ame time both for man's ea! e andplenty. To Her Per! eus brought the head of Medu! a which turned all thinges intoStone, and was horrid in its appearance with ! erpents and vipers in! tead of Hairs;which ! he afterwards placed in her ! hield to u! e it again! t her Enemyes, that is to! ay Rude and Barbarous people who are therefore to be turned into Stones. And intruth Wi! dom or Naturall Philo! ophye renders its incredulous and enviouscondemners quite ! tupid and void of ! en! e and under! tanding by the means of that! ame thinge, from whence Chry! aor was borne who was the father of Geryon whohad three bodyes. That is by the means of the Lapiditick Gorgonian blood, whichis nothing el! e but the Tincture of the Philo! ophick Stone.

Page 76: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 76/156

70

EM B L E M A XXIV.Regem lupus uorauit, & uitæ crematus reddidit. 

(A wolf devoured the King, and being burnt it re! tored him to life again.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXIV.

 Multi uorum captare lupum tibi cura ! it, illiProiiciens Regis corpus, ut ingluuiem

Hoc domet, hunc di !  ponme rogo, Vulcanus ubi ignemExicet, in cineres belua quo redeat.

Illud agas iterum atque iterum, ! ic morte re ! urgetRexque Leonino corde ! uperbus erit.

Page 77: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 77/156

71

DISCOURSE XXIV.

The Hunger and Voracity of a wolf is remarkably knowne to be very great,in! omuch that when his prey is wanting he will feed even upon the Earth; withwhich he is likewi! e ! aid to fill his belly when he is about to ! et upon large herds of

Cattle, that ! o being made heavier by that burden he may re! i! t more ! trongly andnot ea! ily be ! haken off from his hold. When he enters a fold he doth not only killenough to ! ati! fye his hunger but through greedine!! e de! troys the whole flock. Heis Sacred to Apollo and Latona becau! e he ! tood by her when ! he was in Labour,for Latona could not have delivered young unle!! e he had been pre! ent. Hencelikewi! e the wolf is thought acceptable to Apollo becau! e he celebrated hisbirthday, as al! o becau! e his Eyes ! hine and ca! t forth light in the mid! t of thenight. Therefore the breathle!! e body of the King is thrown to the wolf when he isravenou! ly hungry, not to the end that the wolf ! hould wholly con! ume and

annihilate the King, but that by his own death the wolf ! hould re! tore ! trength andlife to him. For there is a certain amatorious Virtue in the Tayle of the Wolf whichis infu! ed into the half dead King which makes him very de! irable to all men uponthe recovery of His former Health and Beauty.

The Hyrcanians nouri! hed Doggs for no other U! e but that they might ca! t theirDead Bodyes to be devoured by them, as Cicero tells us. And ! o the Ma!! agetesgive men that dye of di! ea! es as a prey to doggs. But the Philo! ophers give theirKing to a Wolf, nor indeed are they plea! ed with the Cu! tom of the Sabeans, who

carryed out their dead in the! ame manner as dung and threw their King upon theDunghills; nor that of the Troglodytes of the Red Sea, who tyed the Necks of their

dead men to their feet and hurried them along with Je! ts and Laughter, and ! o putthem into the ground without any Con! ideration of the place of Buriall. But thePhilo! ophers cho! e to follow the Cu! tom of the Magi, who did not bury their deadbodyes till they had fir! t been torn to pieces by wild bea! ts; or of the Indians, whobeing Crowned and ! inging the prai! es of the Gods commanded them! elves to beburnt alive, lea! t old age ! hould come upon them. But the! e cu! toms were impo! edupon them all without any hopes of Re! urrection or Renew all of Life. Thinges are

far otherwi! e di! po! ed among the Philo! ophers. For they certainly know that fromtheir King devoured by a wolf there will appear one that is Alive, Strong andYoung, and that the wolf mu! t be burnt in his ! tead. For when the belly of thewolf is ! o gorged he will ea! ily be ! lain, but although the King be dead he hath aMartiall or Cygnean Virtue that he can neither be wounded nor con! umed.

But where is this Wolf to be hunted, or whence this King to be taken? ThePhilo! ophers an! wer that the wolf wanders up and down in the Mounteins and

Page 78: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 78/156

72

Valleys that he may ! eize his prey, which mu! t be drawn out of their dens andpre! erved for U! e. But the King being fatigued with the long journey he has takenfrom the Ea! t at length falls down, and his death is then ha! tened by his grief! eeing him! elf among Strangers, deprived of all his Honours and ! o little e! teemedas for a ! mall price to be ! old into ! lavery. But it is nece!! ary that the Wolf mu! t be

taken out of a Cold Region, for tho! e that are bred in Cold Countryes are morefierce than in Libya or Egypt by rea! on of their greater hunger occa! ioned by the

externall cold. Hence the devoured King revives with the heart of a Lyon and isable afterwards to conquer all bea! ts. And although he is the meane! t in A! pectamong his ! ix brothers, being the Younge! t of them all, yet after many mi! eries andtribulations he ! hall at la! t come to the mo! t powerfull Kingdom. HereuponGratianus in the Ro! ary ! aith: In Alchymy there is a certain noble body whichmoved from Ma! ter to Ma! ter, in who! e beginning there ! hall be Mi! ery withVinegar, but in the End Joy with Gladne!! e. And Alanus in the ! ame place ! ays:

There is one thing to be cho! en out of all, which is of a Livid Colour, having a clearliquid metallick Species, and is a thinge Hot and Moi! t, Watery and Combu! tible,and is a Living Oyle and Living Tincture, a Minerall Stone and Water of Life ofwonderfull efficacy.

It is not always ! afe for Kings to travell out of the Confines of their Kingdoms, forif they endeavour to conceal them! elves and yet happen to be known by theirAdver! aries, they are taken for Spyes and impri! oned; if being known they wouldproceed without an Army they are in the ! ame manner of danger. And ! o it hashappened to this Indian King, or if he had not been prevented by death it would! o have happened. This capture is the fir! t Sublimation, Lotion and Nobilitationwhich the Philo! ophers u! e, that the ! econd and third may be performed withmore happy ! ucce! s. For the ! econd and third without the fir! t are of no moment,the King being as yet Pu! illanimous, Drow! y and Sick. For He mu! t fir! t requireSub! idies and Tributes of his Subjects by which he may purcha! e him! elf garmentsand other nece!! aryes, and afterwards he will be rich enough and able to newclothe all his Subjects as often as He plea! es. For great thinges being generally! prung from ! mall beginnings can afterwards rai! e up ! mall thinges, or even! uppre

!! e great ones if

! uch their plea

! ure be. As appears by

! ome Cities, which atfir! t were ! mall but were governed by mighty Kings, and ! o from Villages became

populous and Magnificent Towns.

Page 79: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 79/156

73

EM B L E M A XXV.Draco non moritur, ni ! i cum fratre & ! orore ! ua interficiatur,

qui ! unt Sol & Luna. (The Dragon does not dye unle!! e he be ! lain by a Brother and a Si! ter, which are Sol and Luna.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXV.

Exiguæ e ! t non artis opus, ! traui !! e DraconemFunere, ne ! erpatr mox rediuiuus humo.Frater & ip ! a ! oror iuncti ! imul illius oraFu ! te premunt, nec res fert aliena necem.

Phœbus ei frater, ! oror e ! t at Cynthia, Python

Illâ, a ! t Orion hac cecidêre manu.

Page 80: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 80/156

74

DISCOURSE XXV.

In the acqui! ition of the Golden Fleece the Dragon was fir! t to be killed, whichLabour having been in vain attempted by many men, they were overcome by theDragon and de! troyed with his deadly poi! on. The rea! on was becau! e they were

not ! ufficiently armed again! t his Venom, nor in! tructed by what device he mightbe ! lain. But Ja! on the Phy! itian neglected no manner of Remedies, ! everall ofwhich he received from Medea (the coun! el of his mind) and among them theImages of Sol and Luna, by the true u! e of which he obtained the victory whichwas the Golden Fleece. Therefore the Dragon was ! lain by Sol and Luna, or bytheir Images, as the Philo! ophers often ob! erve.

So the Author of the Ro! ary out of other Writers as Hermes ! ays: The Dragon dyesnot unle!! e he be killed by the Brother and Si! ter; not by one alone but by twotogether, to wit by the Sun and Moon. The Philo! ophickal Mercury never dyesunle!! e it be killed with his ! i! ter; that is, it is nece!! ary to congeal him with theMoon or Sun. Note the Dragon is Argent Vive extracted from bodyes, having in itBody Soul and Spirit; whereupon he ! aith the Dragon dyes not unle!! e with hisBrother and Si! ter, that is Sol and Luna, that is Sulphur extracted, having in it! elfthe Nature of Moi! ture and Coldne!! e by rea! on of the Moon. With the! e theDragon dyes, that is Argent Vive extracted from the ! ame bodyes at fir! t, which isthe Aqua Permanens of the Philo! ophers, which is made after putrefaction andafter ! eparation of the Elements, and that water by another Name is called Aqua

Foetida. So far he goes, with whom all the re! t do agree, and therefore I think itunnece!! ary to quote them.

The People of Epyrus wor! hipped a Dragon in the Temple of Apollo in memory ofPython that was ! lain by him. There is by Nature a continuall war between theDragon and the Elephant, at who! e eyes and throat he always ! trikes, till theElephant falling upon the ground kills the Dragon with his Weight, from whenceby many is ! aid to come that Dragon's Blood which is imported into the ! e parts.The Dragon's Eyes are of equall Value with Jewells. His ! ight is very ! harp andclear, and therefore he is placed as a guard over Trea! ures, as to the Garden of the

He! perides and the Golden Fleece at Colchis. The Ancients al! o joined him toÆ! culapius as a Hieroglyphick.

But the chemi! ts appropriate Dragons to their Work not in reality but as anAllegorye. For a Dragon always denotes Mercury, whether he be fixed or volatile.Hence Mercury has two ! erpents about his Caduceus (for a dragon is a great! erpent), and Saturn has but one which devours his Tayle, as al! o has Janus. ASerpent is dedicated to Æ! culapius, the ! on of Apollo and the Inventor of Medicine

Page 81: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 81/156

75

(the Philo! ophick Medicine), and it is believed that he was carryed in that ! hapefrom Epidauros to Rome, and there always wor! hipped for the ce!! ation of thepe! tilence which (as they thought) was effected by him.

Now the Philo! ophick Dragon is always mo! t Vigilant and Lively, not ea! ily to bewounded both by rea! on of the thickne!! e of his ! kin and ! harpne!! e of his teeth

and Venom with which he is armed: for although the common Dragons are ! aid tobe without poi! on, yet this is not without it, venting it upon any one that comesnear unle!! e he be managed warily. He therefore can rarely be overcome by Force,unle!! e the Craft of tho! e who are related to him by con! anguinity be added to it.For it is truly ob! erved by an Author that it is a ! afe and u! uall way to deceiveunder the name of a Friend; but how ! afe or u! uall ! oever it may be, it carries aCrime along with it. It may be ! o in other affairs, but it is not ! o in this. Jugglersand mountebanks are ! aid to kill worms and drive them out of children by apowder made of ! uch worms, that is to kill brothers with their brothers and ! i! ters:

! o here the Dragon is to be killed with the Brother and Si ! ter, which is Sol andLuna. Whence it appears that the Dragon is al! o one of the Planets, to wit (asbefore ! howed out of the Ro! ary) Mercury extracted out of Bodyes.

Some of the Grecians have told us that in the Reign of Herod King of Judea aDragon fell in love with a beautifull maid who was marriageable, and lay with herin bed; and that Tiberius the Emperor delighted in another which he commonlyfed with his own hand. So al! o the Philo! ophickal Dragon if he be rightly handledleaves his fiercene!! e and becomes a friend to man, but he is dangerous if u! ed

otherwi! e. Xanthus the hi! torian as Pliny relates it, tells us that a Dragon’s youngone being killed was by his parent brought to life again with the Herb called Balin,which notwith! tanding I a! cribe to a Philo! ophickal Allegorye rather then a trueHi! tory. For only in Chymicall proce!! e Death happens to the live Dragon and lifereturns to the dead one, and that by turns alternately.

But it may be enquired where and how the Dragon may be taken. ThePhilo! ophers an! wer: The Mounteins give Dragons to Rebis and the EarthFounteins. But in Tacitus may be ! een the way of taking him, and with what Careand Indu! try many men watched to ! eize a very great Dragon which had beenob! erved in Africa, that ! o he might be carryed to Tiberius. For they found hisaccu! tomed path among Stones; this they enclo! ed, and having ! educed it to anarrow compa!! e they then included him in bands and netts, and tamed him byClubs and Stripes till at la! t by the help of many Land Carriages He was broughtto the ! hip which conveyed him to Rome. 

Page 82: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 82/156

76

EM B L E M A XXVI.Sapientiæ humanæ fructus Lignum uitæ e ! t. 

(The Tree of Life is the fruit of Human Wi! dom.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXVI.

 Maior in humanis non e ! t ! apientia rebus,Quàm quâ diuitiæ uitaque  ! ana uenit.

Dextra ! alubre tenet !  paciosi temporis æuum,Illius at cumulos læua recondit opum.

Si quis ad hanc ratione manuque acce !! erit, illiVitæ fructus in hac arboris in ! tar erit.

Page 83: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 83/156

77

DISCOURSE XXVI.

Tullius has excellently de! cribed the E!! entiall difference of Man whereby he isdi! tingui! hed from all other animalls after this manner: As a Bird for flying, aHor! e for running, ! o a Man is born for Rea! oning. For as Lyons, Bears and Tigers

do exerci! e and delight them! elves in fiercene!! e, Elephants and Bulls in ! trength ofbody, Eagles, Falcons and other Hawks in preying upon birds and ! wiftne!! e ofwings, ! o Man excells them and all other Creatures in Rea! on, Inferences andUnder! tanding. So there is no fiercene!! e, no ! trength of body, no ! wiftne!! e inBrutes ! o great, as not to be tamed, ! ubdued and outdone by Man's Rea! on only.For rea! on is not a thinge humane or proceeding from the Earth, but as the Poet! aith a particle of divine breath ! ent from heaven into Man. It is ! ometimes calledmemory, ! ometimes the intellectuall virtue to which, if u! e or experience be added,Wi! dom ! prings from thence; which is the mo! t precious thinge that a man can

obtain. For u! e is ! aid to be as the Father and Memory as the Mother of ! o generousan off! pring. But the Que! tion is, what is true wi! dom? and mo! t worthy of man'senquiry, ! ince the opinions concerning it are infinite, every man tran! ferring it totheir own imaginations? It may be an! wered that Wi! dom (exception being alwaysmade of that which in divine thinges relates to the Welfare of the Soul) in humanthinges does not con! i! t in Sophi! ticall Arguments, Rhetoricall Speeches, PoeticallSound of Ver! es, Criticall Subtility of the Grammarians. Nor in the craft of heapingup Riches by violence, lyes, deceit, perjuryes, oppre!! ion without any regard to thecryes and labour of the Poor. For wi! dom is nothing el! e but the true knowledge ofAlchymie joined with practice, which is of the greate! t benefit to mankind. This isthe Wi! dom ! urpa!! ing all thinges, which with her right hand penetrates the Ea! t,with her left hand the We! t, and Embraceth the whole Earth.

’Tis of this Wi! dom that Solomon di! cour! es ! o excellently in his Book of Wi! domand ! hows us how They that are acquainted have Eternall per! everance, and Herfriends partake of ! incere plea! ures. And he that diligently enquireth after Her! hall receive much Joy, for there is no tediou! ne!! e in her conver! ation, but to bepre! ent with Her is mirth and gladne!! e. And though wine and mu! ick cheer the

heart of Man, yet Wi! dom is plea! anter than both, for ! he is the Tree of Life to allthat lay hold upon Her, and happy is every one that reteineth her. Lactantiustherefore calleth her the food of the Soul. The wi! e ! hall inherit Glory, and He thate! teems wi! dom ! hall be exalted and honoured by Her. She is more powerfull thenall thinges and comforts a wi! e man more then ten mighty Princes that are in thecity. And to this worldly wi! dom may be applied what is ! aid by the ProphetBaruch: Where is Wi! dom, Where is ! trength and Where is under! tanding that

Page 84: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 84/156

78

thou mai! t know al! o Where is length of dayes and Life, where is the light of theEyes and peace. And as Solomon affirms in the Book of Wi! dom, Great Plea! ure itis to have Her Friend! hip, and in the works of Her hands are infinite Riches, andin the exerci! e of conference with Her is prudence, and in talking with her a goodreport.

Morienus the Philo! opher ! peaking of it ! ays: This is knowledge which draws himthat po!! e!! es it from the mi! ery of this world and brings him to the knowledge oftho! e good thinges that are to come. And he Affirms it to be the Gift of God: Forthis is nothing but the Gift of God mo! t High who committs and reveals it to ! uchof his ! ervants and faithfull as He plea! es. They therefore ought to be Humble and! ubject in all thinges to the Omnipotent God. And in another place: For it isconvenient for you to know, O King, that this Magi! tery is nothing el! e but theArcanum and ! ecret of ! ecrets of the mo! t High and Great God, for he hathrecommended this ! ecret to his Prophets who! e Souls he hath placed in his

Paradi! e. It is al! o called the Tree of Life; not that it hath Eternall Life in it, butbecau! e it doth as it were ! how the way to it, and bears fruit profitable for this Lifewhich it cannot be without, ! uch as Health and the Goods of Fortune and Mind.For without the! e a Man living is as if he were dead, and not unlike to a Brute,although outwardly he repre! ents him that he ought to be, but is not in his betterpart.

Page 85: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 85/156

79

EM B L E M A XXVII .Qui Ro ! aroum intrare conatur Philo ! ophicum ab ! que claves,

a !! imilatur homini ambulare uolenti ab ! que pedibus. (He that endeavours to enter into the Philo! ophers’ Ro! arye without a key,

is like him who would walk without feet.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXVII.

Luxuriat Sophiæ diuerso flore R O S E T U M ,Semper at e ! t firmis ianua clau ! a ! eris:

Vnica cui clauis res uilis habetur in orbe,Hac ! ine, tu capres, cruribus ab ! que uiam.

Parna !! i in uanum conaris ad ardua, qui uixIn plano ualeas te  ! tabilire ! olo.

Page 86: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 86/156

80

DISCOURSE XXVII.

They write of Erichthonius that He ! prang out of the Earth whil! t Vulcan wre! tledwith Pallas the Godde!! e of Wi! dom, and was born not with the feet of a man butformed like a ! erpent. Such are tho! e Per! ons who by the means of Vulcan alone,

without the Wi! dom of Pallas, do beget Off! pring that are mon! trous, without feetand abortive, which can neither profit others nor benefit them! elves. It is ami! erable thinge for men to go upon all four, that is upon his hands and feet; butwor! e altogether are tho! e de! titute of feet who u! e Arms in! tead of them, for they! eem to have degenerated into the Nature of Worms who go after the manner ofreptiles.

But the two legs are the two organick members of man, without which there canbe no true walking, no more then ! eeing without eyes or gra! ping thinges tangiblewithout hands. So likewi! e medicine and every operative Art are ! uppo! ed to havetwo legs, namely Experience and Rea! on, upon which they are to ! tand andwithout either of which their Art is lame and imperfect in its Traditions andPrecepts, nor can it arrive at the End it propo! es. But Chemi! try chiefly has two! ubjects as its two legs, one of which is the key, the other is the bolt. With the! e thePhilo! ophick Ro! ary although locked on every ! ide may be opened, and freeadmittance given to ! uch as have a Right to enter. But if one of the! e be wanting tohim that is about to enter therein, it will be the ! ame thinge as if a Cripple ! houldendeavour to outrun a Hare. He that without a key enters into the Garden which

is every way enclo! ed is like a Thief who coming in the dark night can di

! cernnothing that grows in the Garden, nor enjoy what he ! teals thence.

But the Key is a thinge of the meane! t Value which properly is called a Stone,known in the Chapter X as the Root of Rhodes, without which no Twig is putforth, nor doth a Budd ! well, nor a Ro! e ! pring and ! end forth leaves in a thou! andfold. But it may be a! ked where this Key is to be ! ought for? I an! wer with theOracle: it is there to be looked for where the Bones of Ore ! tes are ! aid to be found,to wit Where THE WINDS, THE STRIKER, THE REPERCUTIENT AND THEDESTRUCTION OF MEN may be found together. That is, as Lychas interpreted it,

in a Bra! ier's Workhou! e. For by the Winds is meant his Bellows, by the Striker theHammer, by the Striker Back the Anvill, and by the De! truction of Men, Iron! eems to have been meant by the Oracle. If a man knows how to number well anddi! tingui! h the ! igns he will certainly find this Key in the Northern Hemi! phere ofthe Zodiack, and the bolt in the Southern; and being Ma! ter of the! e it will be ea! yto open the Door and enter.

Page 87: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 87/156

81

And in the very entrance he will ! ee Venus and her beloved Adonis, for ! he hathtinged the White Ro! e of a Purple Colour with her Blood. In the ! ame place aDragon al! o is ob! ervable- as in the He! perian Gardens- who watches over the! eRo! es. And the ! cent of the Ro! es is ! aid to be increa! ed by Garlick planted nearthem, and that by rea! on of the exceeding degree of Heat which is in Garlick

whereby it re! i! ts cold poi

! ons, for the Ro

! es want the Heat of the Sun and Earthbefore they can acquire a colour and ! mell that is mo! t Gratefull to the Eyes and

No! trills. Moreover the Fume of Common Sulphur makes Red Ro! es White if ittouch them, and ! o on the contrary the Spirit of Vitriol and Aqua Fortis refre! hesthem with a deep or full Red Colour which endureth. For common Sulphur is anEnemy to the Philo! ophickal Sulphur though it cannot de! troy it, but the ! olutivewater is friendly to it and pre! erves its Colour.

The Ro! e is ! acred to Venus in regard of that Beauty in which it ! urpa!! eth allFlowers; for it is a Virgin which Nature hath Armed that it might not be violated

without revenge and puni! hment. Violets are unarmed and trod under feet, butRo! es lye among Prickles and have Yellow Hairs hidden within and a Garment ofGreen without. No man can pluck them and ! eparate them from the Prickles buthe that is Wi! e; if otherwi! e, he ! hall feel a Sting in his fingers. So none but the mo! tWary Philo! ophers will crop their Flowers, lea! t in the Hives He ! hould find Stingsas well as Bees and Gall in! tead of Honey. Many have ! ecretly and like Thievesentered the Ro! ary but have reaped nothing from thence but Mi! ery and Lo!! e ofTime and Labour. Whereupon Bacu!! er ! aith in the Turba: Our Books ! eem veryinjurious to tho! e who read them only once or twice or perhaps thrice, for theywill be fru! trated in their Under! tanding and whole Study. What is wor! e they willal! o lo! e all their money, pains and time which they have ! pent in this Art, and alittle afterwards, when a man thinks he has perfected and has the World, he willfind nothing in his hands.

Page 88: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 88/156

82

EM B L E M A XXVIII .Rex balneatur in Laconico ! edens, atrâque bile liberatur à Pharut. 

(The King is ! itting in a Vaporous Bath, and is freed from the Black Gallby the Phy! itian Pharut.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXVIII.

Rex Duenech (uiridis cui fulgent arma Leonis)Bile tumen rigidis moribus u ! us erat.

Hinc Pharut ad ! e ! e medicum uocat, ille ! alutemSpondet, & aërias fonte min ! trat aquas:

His lauat & relavat, uitreo  ! ub fornice, donec

Rore madenti omnis bilis abacta fuit.

Page 89: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 89/156

83

DISCOURSE XXVIII.

As there are three concoctions in man, the fir! t in the Stomach, the ! econd in theLiver, the third in the Veins, there are likewi! e as many univer! all Evacuations ofExcrements which are corre! pondent to them and daily carry of their

! uperfluityes; namely, the fir! t by ! tool which is proper to the fir! t concoction, the! econd by Urine which belongs to the ! econd, the third by Expiration through thepores of the Whole Body or by ! weat which is peculiar to the third. In the fir! t theChylus, in the next Chymus, in the third a Dew or dewy ! ub! tance is Elaboratedand applied to every part of the Body. The Excrements or Faeces of the fir! t areThick, Bilious and Fat, which are carryed through the Bowells backward, and ifthey be at any time ob! tructed they are gently, moderately or ! trongly expelled bypurgations. The Excrements of the ! econd are liquid, more thin, bilious and ! alti! h,which are brought out of the Veins by the Kidneys and Bladders as Aqueducts.

The ! uperfluityes of the third are yet more thin and therefore do for the mo! t partexpire of them! elves through the ! malle! t pores, or are carryed out together withthe Serum of the Humors as ! weat. The! e are helped by Sudorificks, as the formerare by Diureticks. The Ancient Greeks and Romans took a great deal of pains forthe evacuating of this latter ! ort of Faeces, and to this End did ! o many ! ports andexerci! es, ! uch as the Chafing of all parts in the morning, Anointing with oyle andWre! tling, Fencing, Running, Hand-ball, Tennis, daily Wa! hing and Bathing inRivers or Artificiall Baths. And for the convenience of the! e thinges ! o many

Magnificent! tructures were built at Rome, which we may rather admire thanimitate; ! uch as were the Baths of Diocle! ian, which are for the mo! t part ! till

remaining (and unle!! e I am mi! taken dedicated to the Arch Angels), an A! piring,Superb and Splendid Work.

The ! ame kinds of concoction as we have before mentioned are likewi! e in theElaboration of Metalls. For the fir! t is made after its manner in the Magnus Annusor great year, that is in the Revolution of the Highe ! t Sphere, the ! econd in theRevolution of the lowe! t ! phere, the third in that of the middle one. But that thePhilo! ophers may by the help of Art more Ea! ily draw forth this ma!! e of

Excrements and Superfluityes, they invent ! everall methods ! uch as Wa! hings,Purgations, Bathings and Laconica or Vaporous Baths, by which they perform thatin the Philo! ophickal Work which Phy! icians do in human Bodyes. Duenechtherefore is by Pharut introduced into his Laconicum that there He may ! weat andevacuate through his Pores the Faeces of the third concoction; for this King'sdi! temper is melancholick or atrabilious by which he is in le!! e Authority andE! teem than all the other Princes, as being charged with the moro!! ne!! e of Saturn

Page 90: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 90/156

Page 91: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 91/156

85

EM B L E M A XXIX.Ut Salamandra uiuit igne ! ic lapis. 

(As the Salamander lives in fire, ! o al! o the Stone.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXXIX.

Degit in ardenti Salamandra potentior igne,Nec Vulcane tuas æ ! timat illa minas:

Sic quoque non flammarum incendia  ! æva recu ! at,Qui fuit aßiduo natus in igne Lapis.

Illa rigens æ ! tus extinguit, liberaque exit, At calet hic, ! imilis quem calor ine iuuat.

Page 92: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 92/156

86

DISCOURSE XXXIX.

There are two Elements in which Animalls live, Air and Water, and as many inwhich nothing that is Animated can remain, to wit, Earth and Fire; for as theformer are of a temperate and middle Complexion in the fir! t and ! econd

qualitiyes,! o the

! e latter are of an extreme one, or are bodyes either too thick ortoo ! ubtile, ! o that the thickne!! e does not admitt ! ome bodyes, and the ! ubtilety

does indeed admitt ! ome but then it penetrates and burns them. But that men canlive in Subterraneous Caves is occa! ioned by the Air de! cending thither and fillingtho! e places lea! t there ! hould be any Vacuum. But here we ! peak of every Elementapart. In the Water Fi! hes live in incredible numbers, variety and fruitfulne!! e, andeven the bigge! t of all Animalls. In the Air live Men, fourfooted Bea! ts, Birds,Worms and In! ects. What! oever is ! aid of Spirits wandering in the ! ecret parts ofthe Earth is another thinge, for they are not Animalls.

But as for the Fire, there are no Animalls ! aid to live in it except the Salamander.Now the Salamander is a creeping worm not much unlike a Lizard, but of a ! lowerpace, bigger head and different Colour, ! uch as I remember ! eeing in the Alpsunder the mountein Spulga coming out of the Rocks after Thunder and Rain andlying in the way. And a Country man of the place told me it was called EinMolch; it had round about it a clammy and vi! cous moi! tne!! e, by the Virtue ofwhich it freely pa!! es though the Fire without Harm.

But the Salamander of the Philo! ophers is very different from this, although it belikened to it. For that of the Philo! ophers is born in Fire. This is not ! o with thecommon Salamander, but if it falls into the Fire by rea! on of its extreme coldne!! eand moi! ture it is not pre! ently burnt, but can freely pa!! e through the Flame thatis Hot and Dry. This common Salamander is Cold and Moi! t, for every thingeparticipates of the Nature of the Mother’s womb and re! embles the place andcountry of its production. Fire produces nothing but what is Hot and Dry asbeing like to it! elf; on the contrary, the Moi! t and Cold Caverns of Rocks being fullof water ! end forth this moi! t and cold Vermin. The Philo! ophickal Salamander bythe Similitude of its Nature rejoyces in Fire; the common Salamander by theContrariety of Nature extingui! hes it or for ! ome time repells its force.

They ! ay that the Fly Pyrau! tes is generated in Fire and flyes out of the Bra! s

Furnaces in Cyprus. But no man has believed this to be true but in an Allegorye.For Fire if it be continued de! troys and corrupts the bodyes of any Animallswhat! oever, ! eeing it can burn Earth into Gla!! e and the mo! t ! olid Timber and allother compounded thinges into A! hes, ! ome few excepted to wit ! uch as areMercuriall, which either wholly remain or wholly fly away out of the fire withoutany ! eparation being made of their parts. For Vulcan is a mo! t cruell Executionerwho calls all thinges that are mixed and compounded of Elements to his Tryalland Judgement. Some few only are excepted from his Tribunall by the ! peciall

Page 93: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 93/156

87

Privilege and Indulgence of Nature, who is Empre!! e of all thinges. Over the! e hehas no right by him! elf alone, unle!! e he joins to him the Areopagites as othera!! i! tant Judges. And Salamanders are ! uch as are above his Violence, which theydo not fear.

Avicenna in his Porta reckons up the various Temperaments of bodyes which are

all unequall and therefore corruptible by Fire and other injuries. But He affirmsthat there is one exactly equall which has as much Heat as Cold and as muchDryne!! e as Moi! ture, not according to Weight but Ju! tice as the Phy! itians term it;and this is that which is more Patient then Agent, in which if Fire endeavours tore! olve Water its adver! ary into Air which is its Familiar, the Earth does not admittthis Re! olution becau! e it is incorporated with Water. And the Internall Fire of theCompound doth by its ! uffrage approve this pretence of the Earth, becau! e he isthe intimate Friend of the Earth. Therefore Vulcan's Judgement cea! es, and he u! esyet another Intrigue by endeavouring to burn the Earth into cinders as he isaccu! tomed to do. But Water adhering to Earth brings exceptions again! t him and

! hows that ! he is united to the Earth and the Air, as the Fire by one ! ide is to theEarth. Therefore he that would reduce the Earth to A! hes would likewi! e reducethe other Elements, and ! o Vulcan being di! appointed ! u! pends his Judgementlea! t He ! hould become ridiculous.

This Body is like the True! t Salamander, in which the Elements are Equalled bythe Balance of their Powers. Concerning this Ro! arius out of Geber ! aith: Likewi! ethe Philo! opher would have the Sub! tances of Mercury mortified, but naturally hisMercury is in that Venerable Stone as is plain to all men. And a little further on:Al! o the Philo! opher would have the Sub! tances of Mercury Fixed, as is evident

becau! e he teacheth the ways of Fixing with many Cautions and Devices. But whocan doubt the Sub! tance of that Precious Stone to be mo! t Fixed? Certainly no manthat knows it. By which it appears that the Stone is by Fixation to be reduced tothe Nature of the Salamander, that is to the greate! t Fixedne!! e which neitherdeclines nor refu! es Fire. For it is no Salamander till it has learnt to endure Firewith the utmo! t patience, which mu! t of nece!! itye be effected in long proce!! e oftime.

Hereafter in the 35th Emblematicall di! cour! e it will be ! howne how Achilles andTriptolemus were by night placed under embers of Fire till they could endure the

mo! t Vehement Heat, thus by u

! e and cu

! tom attaining to the propertyes of aSalamander. For Cu! tom is a ! econd Nature. But unle!! e Nature communicates

the Power and as a Mi! tre!! e begins the Alteration, Cu! tom will be able to do littleor nothing. And thence it is impo!! ible to fix Ice at the Fire, but to fix Chri! tall ispo!! ible becau! e Nature has begun it. The ! ame mu! t be thought of Watery andVolatile Mercury, which in its own Nature cannot be Fixed but by the Marriageand Coition of Sulphur, which is the Philo! ophickal Tincture and Fixes all flyingSpirits.

Page 94: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 94/156

88

EM B L E M A XXX.Sol indiget Lunâ, ut gallus gallinâ. 

(Luna is as requi! ite to Sol as a Hen is to a Cock.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXX.

O Sol, ! olus agis nil, ! i non uiribus ad ! im,Vt ! ine gallinæ e ! t gallus inanis ope.

 Auxiliumque tuum præ ! ens ego Luna uici !! imPo ! tulo, gallinæ gallus ut expetitur.

Quæ natura ! imul coniungi flagitat, ille e ! t Mentis inops, uinclis qui religare uelit.

Page 95: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 95/156

89

DISCOURSE XXX.

Avicenna in his Book de Anima does ! everall times offer us this admonition: Thatno Eggs ! hould be taken by the Arti! t unle!! e they were of ! uch Hens as had beentrod by a Cock. That is that the Female ! ubject is of no Value without the virtue of

the Male, and! o on the contrary that the Cock is of no u

! e without the Hen. Forthe! e two ! exes are to be joined in the Philo! ophickal Coop, and that ! o

multiplication may from thence proceed. But the Philo! ophers do more e! peciallyu! e this ! imilitude of a Cock becau! e he has a nearer corre! pondence with thePower of the Sulphur than the Male of any other kind of Bird, ! eeing one Cock canpre! ide over many Hens and does not ea! ily endure any Rivall upon theTerritoryes of his own Dunghill, for He knows and e! teems him! elf to be ! ufficientfor all his mates. He is the Bird of Mars, made as the Poets feign by thetran! formation of the boy Gallus, who! e bu! ine!! e it was to watch the Sun lea! t he! hould e! pye the Adultery which Mars committed with Venus; and He is very

Martiall in war, for He will fight with his Enemy even till death. In thePhilo! ophickal work he repre! ents the Sun, as the Hen does the Moon For there isthe ! ame nece!! itye of joining Sol with Luna as the Cock with the Hen. The Cock islikewi! e rai! ed to the Sun, with whom He both ri! es and goes to ! leep. He oftenlooks up to Heaven and erects his Tayle on high, which falls in the ! hape of a! ickle. He fights for his Hens again! t Serpents, He is the forerunner of Light and isLoved by Latona becau! e he was pre! ent at her delivery. For Latona brought forthSol and Luna, from whence the Cock is appropriated both to the Mother and theSon.

But Sol, Luna and Latona agree with Chymicall ! ubjects and ! o do the Cock andHen, for the! e two came out of Eggs and do likewi! e produce eggs, from whencetheir Chickens may be Hatched. So likewi! e the Philo! ophers have their Eggs,which will pa!! e into birds of the ! ame kind if they are nouri! hed with a temperateheat ! uch as the heat of a Hen that ! etts, remaining upon them continually. Forwhereas among other Birds the male ! etts upon the Eggs, the Cock only ! howshim! elf to be free from that Office and Burden, and all the care and labour ofhatching the Chickens and breeding them up mu! t lye upon the Hen. Wherein herDiligence and Indu! try is very remarkable; with what ha! te ! he eats and drinksand performs all the nece!! aryes of Nature, that ! he may run back to her Eggs lea! tthey ! hould grow cold. Then with Force and Eagerne!! e ! he defends her Chickens;with how loud a voice like that of a Bell ! he calls and clucks them together; withwhat Endeavour ! he Brui! es and Cutts with her Bill as with a Knife the hardercrumbs or grains which ! he admini! ters to them. All of which is the work ofNature, and worthy of our admiration. And all this is done lea! t Eggs ! hould bewanting for the food of mankind or the production of Chickens.

Page 96: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 96/156

90

After the ! ame manner the Philo! opher or Arti! t makes like provi! ion for all hisoperations. For he gathers his Eggs from ! uch places where a Cock has beentreading and diligently ! earches lea! t there be joined eggs; after that he clean! es,! eparates and di! po! es them in his Ve!! els, as in Ne! ts; he admini! ters proper heatto them by which from day to day the ! ubjects commixed among them! elves domutually Act and Suffer, till after a long time pa!! ing through various colours they

at la! t arrive at one Colour and E!! ence. In which work Solution, Coagulation,Sublimation, A! cen! ion, De! cen! ion, Di! tillation, Calcination and Fixion mu! t beperformed as intermediate operations. For what is hard and compact cannot bealtered, therefore Solution mu! t precede and that ! o it may grow ! oft and liquid.But when a thinge is di!! olved then it mu! t be Coagulated not to its formerHardne!! e but to a Tractablene!! e proportionate to that of Honey. ThenSublimation ! eparates the Pure from the Impure and makes what was Vile becomeHonourable, advancing inferiour to a ! uperiour. Whence this cannot be wanting,but is like the mi! tre!! e and governe!! e of all the re! t. While this Sublimation is

performed! ome parts mount upwards, which is A

! cen

! ion, and others falldownwards which is De! cen! ion: afterwards, Di! tillation being often repeated

clarifies the whole, and that which remains at the bottom is Calcined. Then bothare fixed and the work is perfected. But a man may in truth reduce all the! e! peciall operations to one generall, which is Coction. For as ! everall Chickenswhich run about are clucked together under one Hen who is their Mother andNur! e, ! o the! e various cour! es and methods of operation run all into one, which isthe work of the woman: that is, Coction.

It is the Moon that mu! t be exalted to the Sublimene!! e of the Sun, and all the! ethinges are tran! acted for her ! ake. That is the finall intent: a durable Marriagebetween the Sun and Moon, and when that is accompli! hed all emba!! ies,contracts, congre!! es, mi! tru! ts ! hall have an End. There will be one bed and onefle! h, the love mutuall and con! tant, the league indi!! olvable, the peace eternall.The Sun without the Moon is of no great E! teem, and the Moon without the Sun isof an abject condition and Vile Originall. But it is from her Hu ! band the Sun that! he receives Splendour, Dignity and Strength or Firmene!! e both of Mind andBody. And the Sun obtains from the Moon the Multiplication of his Off! pring andthe Propagation of his Kind. Hence Ro! arius ! ays, if there were only one of them inour Stone the Medicine would never flow ea! ily nor give the Tincture; nor if it did

give it, it would not Tinge but for as much as was in it, and the remainder andMercury would Fly away in Smoak, becau! e a Receptacle of the Tincture wouldnot be in it. And Geber in Libro Examinum proves that if Sol and Luna areincorporated together with Art they are not ea! ily to be ! eparated.

Page 97: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 97/156

91

EM B L E M A XXXI.Rex natans in mari, clamns altâ uoce: Qui me eripiet, ingens præmium habebit. 

(The King ! wimming in the Sea cryes out with a Loud Voice:He that delivers me ! hall have a great reward.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXXI.

Rex Diadema caput cui prægrauat, æquore ua ! toInnatat, atque altis uocibus u ! us ait:

Cur non fertis opem? Cur non accurritis omnes,Quos ereptus aquis ! orte beare queo?

In mea, ! i ! apitis, me regna reducite, nec uos

Pauperies premet aut corporis ulla lues.

Page 98: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 98/156

92

DISCOURSE XXXI.

The fir! t Rudiments of all Di! cipline were anciently the knowledge of ! wimmingand the in! titution of letters; and from thence it u! ed to be ! aid of a rudeunpoli! hed man that he could neither ! wim nor read. For the Ancients con! idered

that ! wimming would of ten times prove a means to ! ave and deliver the Bodyfrom the dangers of the Water, as the knowledge of letters would the mind amid! tall the waves of Fortune. Swimming is as nece!! ary in War as Learning is at homein times of peace. And as we ob! erve that Brutes have their Weapons in readine!! eand provided by Nature, but that Man in! tead thereof has his wit and hands givenhim again! t all externall Force, that as one contrives his Arms ! o the others mayu! e them, ! o the ! ame bea! ts have the faculty of ! wimming naturally implanted inthem, which man has not. For the very Young often will e! cape from tho! e watersin which the ! tronge! t and mo! t ! killfull man will be drowned. It was therefore

needfull to enjoin the exerci! e of ! wimming to children, it being u! efull towardsthe pre! ervation of their lives, ! o that what was wanting by Nature might be! upplyed by the U! e of Art.

The ! ame Exerci! e has been u! ed by Noblemen, Princes and Kings for the! afeguard of their Per! ons, for they who are de! cended from Noble blood are notwholly Exempted from the chances of fortune, but expo! ed to them as well asother Men. If Diony! ius had neither under! tood ! wimming nor letters when hewas driven out of his Kingdom of Sicily as a Tyrant, he would have peri! hed in the

waves of the Sea when he was! hipwrecked in the Corinthian gulf. Neither couldhe have come to Corinthus, there to ! et up a School to teach boyes and profe! s

humane learning. From a King being made a Schoolma! ter and wielding a rodin! tead of a Scepter, the proverb originated: 'Diony! ius of Corinth'. In like manner,if the Royall Son of the Philo! ophers had not been able to ! wim, no man wouldhave heard his Voice nor retrieved him, he being long ! ince drowned in theWaters. Swimming therefore is nece!! ary and u! efull to all degrees of men, foraltho' it cannot pre! ently deliver a man from the ! urges of the Va! t Ocean, yet itgives him time of Life whereby he may be ! aved by others.

But this King of whom we ! peak ! u! tains him! elf the longe! t time of all and cryesout even to this day, tho' he be ! een or heard by a very Few, by rea! on of theVa! tne!! e of the Sea and his remotene!! e. For by chance in ! wimming he hathtouched upon a Rock or a Very great Stone where he may remain if the Wavesprevail. But it may be a! ked what kind of Sea this is? I an! wer it is the Erythræanor the Red Sea, ! ubject to the Tropick of Cancer, in who! e Bottom there lies themo! t abundant Quantity of Magnets. It is not ! afe for ! hips compacted of or laden

Page 99: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 99/156

93

with Iron to ! ail in it, for they may ea! ily be drawn to the bottom by the Force ofthe Magnets. Which the King before mentioned being ignorant of, and the re! tperi! hing when their ! hip ! ank, he alone e! caped by ! wimming. A Crown ! tillremained upon him, ! hining like Glorious Rubies, by which he might ea! ily beknown and re! tored to his Kingdom.

But what are the! e good things which this Royall Son is able and willing to be ! towon him by whom he ! hould be re! tored to his own Kingdom? Certainly not ! uchrewards as Ptolemy the la! t King of Egypt be! towed on Pompey, by whom hisFather was re! tored to that Kingdom; to wit, Perfidiou! ne! s and Death. Rather, hebe! tows Health, the removall of di! ea! es, the pre! ervation of life free from theburden of things nece!! ary, and the Horn of Plenty with Love and Honour- whichbeing things not mean and ordinary, but the chief Vitalicks and ornaments of thisLife. Who, except he be ! tupid would not de! ire them? Who would not ! wim toHim? Who would not ! tretch forth his hand and draw him into the Boat? But care

mu! t be taken lea! t in re! cuing this Prince his Diadem ! hould fall into the Sea. Forthen He would ! carce be acknowledged for the King or received by his Subjects,becau! e then would peri! h the Pyropus Venerabili, and the Bezoar Stone a!! uringHealth to all men would Vani! h quite away. Hence the Ro! ary quotes Ari! totle inthe! e Words: Choo! e Thy! elf a Stone, that by which Kings are revered in theirDiadems, and by which Phy! icians can cure their Patients, becau! e it is near to theFire. For without a Medicinall Virtue a Crown would be of no Value.

But what is to be done to the King when he is ! o delivered? Fir! t from tho! e Waters

he had received in He mu! t be relieved by Sudorificks, from Cold by the Heat ofFire, from the Numbne!! e of his Limbs by Baths moderately Hot, from Hungerand want of food by the Admini! tration of a convenient Diet and from otherexternall maladies by their contraries and Health-re! toring Remedies. Then mu! t aRoyall match be provided, from which in due time there ! hall ari! e from him anoff! pring mo! t de! irable, mo! t beloved by all men, mo! t beautifull and mo! tfruitfull, who ! hall excell all his Ance! tors in Strength, Kingdom, Dominions,People, Riches and Wealth, and ! hall ! ubdue his Enemyes not by War butGentlene!! e, not by Tyranny but Clemency, which is genuine and peculiar to Him.

Page 100: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 100/156

94

EM B L E M A XXXII .Corallus ! ub aquis ut cre ! cit & aëre induratur, ! ic lapis. 

[As Corall grows under Water and is hardened by the Air, ! o al! o is the Stone.] 

EPIGRAMMA XXXII.

Planta maris uegetans Siculi ! ub fluctibus udaRamos ! ub tepidis multiplicauit aquis.

Illa, CORALLUS, habet nomen ! ibi, durior exit,Cum Boreas rigido mittit ab axe gelu:

Fit lapis, & rubeum multâ cum fronte coloremPo !! idet: hæc Phy ! icæ e ! t apta figura Petræ.

Page 101: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 101/156

95

DISCOURSE XXXII.

The Philo! ophers call their Stone a Vegetable becau! e it Vegetates, grows and isincrea! ed and multiplies like a plant. This indeed to the ignorant ! eems ! trangeand contrary to the Truth, it being as they think manife! t that Stones do neither

Vegetate nor grow after this manner, nor that this can any ways appertain to ! uchMetalls as may be liquefied or melted. But they are deceived in their Judgements;for whatever is unknown to them, that they believe not to be in Nature, mea! uringthe immen! ity of the Univer! e by their own Capacities. For who would ever havebelieved that a Stone ! hould grow under waters or a plant there generated ! houldbecome a Stone, unle!! e Experience and the credible te! timony of Writers hadconfirmed it? Where does that petrifying, where does that tingeing Virtue whichhardeneth and tingeth Corall, Exi! t? Whether in that Water or in the Air? We mayrea! onably believe it to be as they affirme a ! oft and flexible plant whil! t it is under

the Waters, yet of a Very earthy Nature, which when it is cut and expo! ed to thecold winds becomes hard and may be broken like a Stone. For the watery partswhich abound are dryed up by a cold and dry Air (for Northern Winds bringdryne!! e along with them), and the Earthy body which remains, having cold anddryne!! e as its qualities, is congealed. For con! triction or the binding faculty is theEarth's alone; it does not exi! t in the Water or Air, as each element has its genuineor proper qualities.

The Sea likewi! e in other places produces three Medicinall Stones, taken partly

from the Vegetable kind, partly from the Animal, or rather from the hiddenSecrets of Nature, as Pearl, Amber and Amber Gry! e. The Production of Pearlsand the way of taking them is known to Us, but not of the re ! t. Amber is gatheredupon the Sea Coa! ts of Scandinavia after a mo! t Vehement north-we! terly windhas blown, which without doubt drives it through the Waters to the Shore after ithas boyled out of the Earth into the Veins of the Sea. For we have ! een ! ome Veinsof Iron and Silver growing in the Amber, which thing could not be done but in theEarth. But that Flies, Gnatts, Spiders, Butterflies, Froggs and Serpents ! hould be! een in ! ome pieces of it (we our! elves having had 120 beads turned out of Amber,

which did every one contain ! ome Flies, Gnatts, Spiders and Butterflies; and one ofthem, not without a ! ingular miracle of Nature, had nine of them together)happens by the influence and imagination of the Heavens, as we have el! ewheredemon! trated. That Amber Gry! e is found after the ! ame manner upon the Shoresof the Ea! t and We! t Indies cannot be denyed, and tho' ! ome declare it to be the

 Juice or Gum of Trees (as they do the Amber before mentioned) yet they whoconceive it to be produced out of the Veins of the Earth do judge more probably.

Page 102: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 102/156

96

For Trees that bear Amber or Amber Gry! e have not been ! een in any place,although if ! uch Trees be they mu! t certainly grow in open Air, and not underwater. We therefore a! cribe both ! orts of Amber to Subterraneous Veins or Stones,as we do Pearls to Zoophyra or Plant-animals, and Corall to the Vegetables.

The Stone of the Philo! ophers is likened to the! e, and e! pecially to Corall. For as

Corall grows in the Waters and draws Nutriment from the Earth, ! o al! o thePhilo! ophick Stone is concreted out of Mercuriall water and has taken thencewhatever is worthy in it towards its own Augmentation, the Superfluous Moi! turehaving expired. The Red Colour likewi! e is rai! ed upon the Corall by thecoagulation which the Ancients call the Tincture of Coralls, and ! o it is in thePhy! icall Stone, which becomes red in the la! t Congelation and appears like thered Corall which is the Tincture. But the Corall grows hard by the Cold and drye,the Stone by the Hot and drye, which being augmented it likewi! e di!! olves:contrary to the Nature of other Stones, which do indeed di!! olve, but run into

gla!! e, which thinge is in no wi! e agreeable to this.

And as Corall is prepared into ! everall Medicines of great Virtue, ! o al! o hath thePhilo! ophickal Corall tran! ferred into it! elf the virtues of all Herbs, and can aloneperforme as much as the medicines of all Vegetables. For the Cele! tiall Sun whoinfu! es a medicinall Virtue of Efficacy to Vegetables has given more to this Son ofhis than to all others. This is the Philo! ophickal Corall, vegetable, animall, andminerall, which lyes hid in the Va! t Ocean and is not known, unle!! e it be put intothe hands and expo! ed to the Eyes of the Ignorant. But it mu! t be cut off whil! t it is

under the Waters, and that with Very Great Caution lea! t it lo! e its juice and bloodand nothing remain but a Terre! triall Chaos without its True Forme. For hereincon! i! ts all the difficulty of gathering Corall. By the! e Waters I under! tand theSuperfluous humidity which kills the Stone, which does not ! uffer the CorallineRedne!! e to appear and which admitts of no Coagulation, unle!! e it be ! eparated. 

Page 103: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 103/156

97

EM B L E M A XXXIII .Hermaphroditus mortuo ! imilis, in tenebris iacens, igne indigit. 

(The Hermaphrodite, lying like a dead man in darkne!! e, wants Fire. ) 

EPIGRAMMA XXXIII.

Ille bicpes gemini  ! exus, en funeris in ! tar Apparet, po ! tquam e ! t humiditatis inops:Nocte tenebrosâ ! i conditur, indiget igne,

Hunc illi præ ! tes, & modo uita redit.Omnis in igne latet lapidis uis, omnis in auro

Sulphuris, argento Mercurii uigor est.

Page 104: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 104/156

98

DISCOURSE XXXIII.

It is remarkable in Nature that at the coming on of Winter Froggs and Leaches lyeunder Water as if they were dead, and in the Spring by the Operation of the Sun'sheat recover ! en! e and motion ! o as to be able to perform the Actions of a ! en! ible

life. But if in the Winter time they be found in the Waters and brought into WarmAir or a Stove, immediately they begin to move as in Summer. From whence itappears that nothing is wanting to them but Externall Heat to excite the NaturallInternall heat and bring it to Action.

After the ! ame manner do the Philo! ophers ! peak of their Hermaphrodite. For if heappears dead as he lyes in darkne!! e he then requires the Heat of Fire. But he is! aid to lye in darkne!! e as being left in a dark and mo! t cold Winter's night, that ishe remains in Blackne!! e, which is a ! ign of Cold, from which he ought by agreater inten! ity of Fire to be brought to Whitene!! e and by a greater ! till toRedne!! e. For without Heat, as Bodillus in the Turba ! ays, nothing is generated.And a Bath of inten! e heat cau! eth a Body to peri! h, but if it be cold it drives itaway. But if it be temperate it becomes agreeable and plea! ant to the Body.Bonellus likewi! e ! ays: “All things that live do al! o die according to God's plea! ure.Therefore that Nature from whom moi! ture is taken, when it is expo! ed by night,! eems like a dead man; and then that Nature wants fire till the Body and Spirit ofit be turned into Earth, and then it becomes du! t like a dead man in his Tomb.The! e things being accompli! hed God re! tores the Spirit and Soul to it, and all

infirmity being taken away our Nature is comforted and amended. It is requi! itetherefore to burn that Matter without fear.” Fire therefore, which de! troys all other

things, repairs this and is its life as it is their Death.

One only Phoenix there is, which is re! tored by Fire, renewed by Flames andrevived out of A! hes; and this, being known only to the Philo! ophers, is burnt andre! tored to life, whatever others fabulou! ly may report of a certain Bird that neveryet was ! een or had any Being. Likewi! e, the Hermaphrodite of which thePhilo! ophers ! peak is of a mixed Nature, Male and Female, one of which pa!! esinto the other by the Operation of Heat. For from a female it becomes a male,

which ought not to ! eem ! trange in the Work of the Philo! ophers, ! ince if Hi! torymay be Credited ! everall examples of it may be found. The Poets mention the ! exchanges of Cenea, Iphin and Tire! iam, as de! cribed by Pontanus and Au! onius.Likewi! e, when Licinius Cra!! us and C. Ca!! ius Longinus were Con! uls a boy wasmade of a Virgin, and Licinius Mutianus as he is quoted by Pliny relates that hehad ! een one Ari! tontem who! e name had been Ari! tu! ae and that ! he had beenmarryed, but that ! he ! oon after had a beard, and manhood appearing the ! ame

Page 105: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 105/156

99

per! on became a Hu! band. Pliny him! elf ! ays that in Africa he ! aw LuciusCo!! icius, a Citizen of Ti! dritanum, changed into a man upon the day of hismarriage.

The! e things are true and might be proved by many other Examples if there wereocca! ion, for it is certain that by the increa! e of heat the genitall parts are thru! t out

of the Body: for ! eeing a Woman is much colder than a male, and has tho! e partshidden within which a man has outwardly, hereupon Nature being dubiouswhether ! he ! hould generate a man or a woman expre!! es a woman outwardly,tho' inwardly ! he intended a man. For which rea! on as heat and motion increa! ewith Age the hidden parts break forth and become apparent. After the ! amemanner it is with the Philo! ophers, for by the increa! e of heat their womanbecomes a man; that is, their Hermaphrodite lo! es the female ! ex and becomes aman ! tout and grave, having nothing in him of Effeminate Softne!! e and Levity. Sowe ! ometime ! ince ! aw a noble youth that was an Hermaphrodite changed, or

rather promoted into a perfect man not uncapable (as it was hoped) of gettingChildren, for a New Pa!! age was made through the Yard which wanted one, andthe other appertaining to the Woman was ! topped. And this piece of Surgery wasperformed by Ca! par Tagliacotio, that famous Surgeon of Bologna.

The Philo! ophers are not without the! e manuall operations, for when the coldne!! eand the moi! tne!! e of the Moon appears, that they call the Woman; and when theheat and dryne!! e of the Sun appears, that is the Man. When all the! e four qualitiesare pre! ent together that is their Rebis or Hermaphrodite, and thus conver! ion of

the Woman- that is, of coldne!! e and moi! ture- may Ea! ily be made into the Man,which is done by the Sole Heat of Fire, as hath been ! aid. For Heat ! eque! ters and! eparates the ! uperfluityes of Moi! ture and will E! tabli! h the Idea of thePhilo! ophickal Subject, which is the Tincture. 

Page 106: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 106/156

100

EM B L E M A XXXIV.In balneis concipitur, & in aëre na ! citur, rubeus uero factus

 graditur ! uper aquas. (He is conceived in Baths, born in the Air, and being made Red

he walks upon the Waters. ) 

EPIGRAMMA XXXIV.

Balnea conceptu pueri, natalibus aërSplendet, & hinc rubeus ! ub pede cernit aquas.Fitque ! uper montana cacumina candidus ille,

Qui remanct doctis unica cura uiris.

E ! t lapis, & non e ! t, cœli quod nobile Donum,Dante DEO felix, ! i quis habebit, erit.

 

Page 107: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 107/156

101

DISCOURSE XXXIV.

The Opinion or Flattery of men has attributed ! everall wonderfull Births orOriginalls to ! ome per! ons above others, but they are certainly fabulous. So it is! aid that Alexander the Great was not begot by Philip King of Macedonia but by

 Jupiter Hammon, Romulus and Remus were begot by Mars, and Plato ! prangfrom the Virgin Perictio, who conceived by a Phanta! me of Apollo. So theHeathens would demon! trate them! elves to be born from the Gods, as al! oThe!! alus the Son of Hippocrates the Phy! ician would among other thingsper! uade the Athenians that he was born from Apollo. But we give no credit tothe! e things, for we know that they from whom they would deduce their Originallwere neither men nor Gods, and if there were any Heroes among Mortalls whomight have been reputed Divine we think it to have proceeded from the flattery oftheir ! ubjects or di! ciples, ! peaking and writing great things of them however fal! e

to gain a reputation of them in the world.

But it is a different thing that the Philo! ophers a! cribe an unu! uall Conception andNativity to their Son, for he hath ! omething above all other things born in theWorld; for he is conceived in Baths, and born in the Air. We know that Womenbeing barren by rea! on of too much coldne!! e and dryne!! e are much helped by hotbaths, ! o as to be made able and fit for conception, but that ! uch conception oughtto be or can be in ! uch Baths is a thing unheard of that ! eems to be peculiar to himalone from the wonderfull power of Nature, which is far different from all others.

In other places they! ay that his conception ought to be in the bottom of the Ve

!! elland his birth in the Alembeck: which opinion is ! till more clear. For the waters of

the Baths, if there be any, will neither be in the top nor in the middle but in thebottom of the ve!! ell, and in the Alembeck will be vapours that are aeriall.

Therefore when conception is made he a! cends into the Alembeck and his Birthappears in a White Colour. Blackne!! e rules in the bottom, of this ! aith the Ro! ary:“It is conception when the Earth is di!! olved into a black powder and begins toretain ! omewhat of the Mercury, for then the male acts upon the female, that is,Azoth upon the Earth.” And a little after: “Conception and Di! pen! ation is made

in Putrefaction in the bottom of the Ve!! ell, and the generation of things is made inthe Air, to wit, in the Head of the Ve!! ell that is the Alembeck.” And conception inBaths is nothing but putrefaction in Dung, for the ! ame Ro! ary proceeds, “TheBody does nothing unle!! e it be putrefied, and it cannot be putrefied but withMercury”; and again, “Let putrefaction be made with the mo! t gentle heat ofwarm and moi! t dung, and by no other thing ! o that no thing a! cend, for if anything doth a! cend there would be a ! eparation of the parts, which ought not to be

Page 108: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 108/156

102

till the male and female be perfectly joined together and one receives the other,who! e ! ign of perfect ! olution is blackne!! e in the ! uperficies.” His birth is white,which is made on the Top of mountains, that is, in the Air or the Alembeck. This isexplained by Ro! inus ad Euthiciam: “After this manner the wi! e man ! aid, takethings out of their mines and exalt them to higher places, and ! end them from the

Top of their Mountains and reduce them to their roots. By Mountains he! ignifiesCucurbites, and by the Tops of Mountains Alembecks, and to ! end after that way

of ! peaking is to receive the Waters of them through an Alembeck in a Receiver,and to reduce to their roots is to carry back to that from which they proceed. Andhe calls Cucurbites mountains becau! e Sol and Luna are found in mountains; ! oal! o in their Mountains, which are Cucurbites, their Sol and Luna is generated.”And ! o far this Author. Afterwards: “The Son of the Philo! ophers becomes red andbegins to go upon the Waters, that is upon Metalls melted by Fire which ! tand inthe form of a Mercuriall Water. For he is the Lord of Waters, upon which he

exerci! es Authority as Neptune is King of the Sea and po!! e!! or of Mountains.”Stories tell us of Xerxes King of Per! ia, who being upon an expedition into Greece! ent an Emba!! y to the Sea and to the Mountain Athos, ! o that they would do himno wrong, either that by its waves or this by the force of Fire, otherwi ! e he wouldbe revenged upon them both. But the Tale was told to them that were deaf, for the! ea drowned ! ome of his Ships, and Athos de! troyed not a few of them by Fire.Hereupon the King being angry did as Lord of the Sea and Mountains command acertain number of Stripes to be inflicted upon the fir! t, and a great part of themountain to be ca! t into the Sea. But the! e things demon! trate rather the ra! hne!! ethan prudence of ! o great a King.

But he concerning whom we ! peak purgeth all Waters from Ob! tacles andImpurities, not only by his Command but by his Actions, and freely pa!! esthrough them; and what is ! till more wondrous congeals them, that the ! ameWaters in which Ships ! ailed before may by their hardne!! e endure his charriotwheels. He levels Mountains with Valleys and fears not the flames of Fire, andtherefore marches without oppo! ition from the Columns of Hercules to the utmo! tcoa! ts of India, where are ! eated the Columns of Diony! us. 

Page 109: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 109/156

103

EM B L E M A XXXV.Ceres Triptolemum, Thetis Achillem, ut ! ub igne morari a !! uefecit,

 ! ic artifex lapidem. (As Ceres accu! tomed Triptolemus and Thetis accu! tomed Achilles to abide Fire,

! o al! o doth the Arti! t the Stone.) 

EPIGRAMMA XXXV.

Re !  pice Triptolemum, durumque in prælio Achillem, Matre docente, æ ! tus ut didicêre graues.

Illum Diua Ceres, Thetis hunc durabat in igne.Noctu, lacte ferens ubera plena die:

Haud ! ecus a !! ue ! cat medicina beata Sophorum,Quàm puer ad mammas, ut queat igne fruit.

Page 110: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 110/156

Page 111: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 111/156

105

The! e ! ame things are a! cribed to O! iris, who went round the Earth for the ! amerea! on as we have demon! trated in another place, and to Diony! us who travelledthrough the world to teach men the U! e of Wine. For the! e three, Triptolemus,Diony! us, and O! iris have one de! ign and office and indeed are one thing, as islikewi! e Achilles, who was the ! tronge! t man that was ! ent to the Trojan War. His

Father was Peleus, that is the Earth or the Mountain Peleus. His mother wasThetis or the Godde!! e of the Sea or Waters, and from the! e Achilles was born. Butat their Nuptialls the Apple of Eris or di! cord was produced which was the fir! tcau! e of the Trojan War. Achilles therefore being ! prung from ! uch a marriage, nowonder if he be the chief In! trument of that war. Achilles is likewi! e ! aid to behardened by his Mother after the ! ame manner as Triptolemus was before, and ofthis we have treated at large in the ! ixth book of our Hieroglyphicks.

Therefore the Nutriment of the Stone is Fire, but it is not from thence as ! omeVainly think that it is extended into length, breadth, and depth, nor receives

increa! e in weight, for it acquires only Virtue, Maturity and Colour from the Fire.All other things are Vitalicks and Provi! ion that it brings along with it! elf. Forwhen from diver! e places its parts are gathered, purged and conjoined, it has allthings requi! ite for it in it! elf. Whence this ver! e of the Philo! opher in the Ro! ary:“This ! tinking water contains everything it needs.” For from the Beginning to theVery End nothing that is foreign is added to it, unle!! e it be Homogeneous, andnothing is ! eparated but what is Heterogeneous. But every man ought to take carethat he be very well acquainted with tho! e Dragons that are to be joined to theCharriot of Triptolemus before he undertake any thing, for they are Winged andVolatile, and if you de! ire to know them you will find them in the Philo! ophickalDung. For they are Dung and generated from Dung, and are that Ve!! el whichMaria affirms not to be Necromantick but that Regiment of your Fire withoutwhich You will effect nothing. I have di! clo! ed the Truth to You which I havegathered out of the monuments of the Ancients by incredible labour and theexpen! e of many years. 

Page 112: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 112/156

106

EM B L E M A XXXVI.Lapis projectus e ! t in terrras, & in montibus exaltatus, & in aëre habitat,

& in flumine pa ! citur, id e ! t, Mercurius. [The Stone that is Mercury, is ca! t upon the Earth, exalted on Mountains,

re! ides in theAir, and is nouri! hed in the Waters.] 

EPIGRAMMA XXXVI.

Vlle recrementum fertur LAPIS atque iacereForte uiis, ! ibi ut hinc diues inopsque parent. Montibus in ! ummis alii ! tatuêre, per auras

 Aëris, at pa ! ciper fluuios alii.

Omnia uero ! uo ! unt ! en ! u, po ! tulo ! ed te Munera montanis quærere tanta locis 

Page 113: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 113/156

107

DISCOURSE XXXVI.

All per! ons that have once heard of the name or power of the Stone, unle ! s theyare altogether incredulous, a! k pre! ently where it may be found, that ! o they mayrun directly to it. The Philo! phers an! wer is twofold: Fir! t Adam brought it with

him out of Paradi! e, that is, in you and in me, and in every man that, birds flying,bring it with them out of far countries. Secondly, it may be found in the Earth,Mountain, Air and Rivers. Which path therefore mu! t be taken? I ! ay, both, but ina different re! pect, although the la! t plea! es us be! t, and ! eems mo! t ! afe.

It is ! aid to be thrown upon the Earth, becau! e the Element of Earth does fir! tappear in an ob! cure and black body. Then, becau! e it is vile and of ! mall price, istrod upon in the path of the Traveller, and in the very dung it! elf. Hence Ro! arius! ays, “Although I ! hould name it by its Name, the fools would not believe it to bethe Thing.” And Morienus, in his an! wer to Calis,

“Whither is much of it to be found?” “If this: It is not there unle! s, as the wi! e man! ays, it be both to the Poor and Rich, to the Liberal and the Covetous, to him thatgoeth as well as ! itteth. For this is thrown in the way and is trampled on in it'sdunghills, that they might extract it to them! elves, but they have been deceived.”

Mundus likewi! e in the Turba ! ays, “If they who ! ell it but did know it, they wouldnot ! ell it ! o cheaply.” And Arnoldus affirms that the Stone may be had gratis, inas great plenty as any man can de! ire, neither will he be forced to a! k for it. Allwhich things are true; for who but a Churl will deny Earth and Water to him thata! ks for it? The ancient Cimbri, as hi! tory tells us, when they were denied thebenefit of the! e two things by the Romans, entered Italy with large Armies, and! lew ! everal thou! ands of the Romans, together with the Con! uls. For the Earth asthe Mother of all things, is mo! t precious as it is. The la! t Matter of thingsputrefied, is mo! t vile; for nothing can be viler than mud or dirt, which yet isnothing el! e but Earth mixed with Water. What is more common than a Clod ofEarth?

But Euripylus, the ! on of Neptune, offered it to the Argonautical Heroes as a

Pre! ent, and they not refu! ing it, but accepting it gratefully, and Medea havingdi!! olved it in water, divined many good things by it; for it is nece!! ary that Earthbe di!! olved in water, otherwi! e neither one nor the other will be of any value.

After this manner, the Stone is ! aid to be ca! t upon the Earth, in whichnotwith! tanding, it does not remain as a thing abject, but is exalted into theMountains, ! uch as Athos, Ve! uvius, Aetna and others, that ! end forth Flames,many whereof are to be ! een in diver! e parts of the World; for in the! e burns a

Page 114: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 114/156

108

perpetual Fire, which ! ublimes the Stone and exalts it to the highe! t dignity. As itgrows in mountains in a rude form, from Sulphur and Argent Vive, ! o it isperfected and brought to maturity upon the tops of mountains, where al! o growsthat Herb without which the Fire cannot be tempered, becau! e this, being cold andmoi! t, and ! o thrown into the Fire, repels the vehemence of it by its contrary

nature. From the mountains it pa!! 

es into the Air, where it finds a habitation. Forthe Air is its hou! e that enclo! es it, which is nothing el! e then that it is carried inthe belly of the wind, and is born in the Air, which ways of ! peaking we haveexplained before.

At la! t he is fed in Rivers, that is: Mercury is fed in waters; and then, as theAthenians celebrated certain Fea! ts in his honour, which they called Hydrophoria.For the matter of the Philo! ophical Stone is water, as the Ro! ary ! aith, and isunder! tood by the waters of tho! e three; for which rea! on Mercury is ! aid to havethree heads, as being Marine, Cele! tial, and Terre! trial , becau! e he is pre! ent in the

Water, Earth and Air.

He is ! aid to be educated by Vulcan, and given to thievery becau! e Mercury istaught to be accu! tomed to Fire, which is volatile and carry away whatever ismixed with it. He gave Laws and Di! cipline to the Egyptians, and ancientlyin! tituted the religion of the Theban prie! ts, and the great part of the worldbe! ides. For the Egyptians had this policy and ! acred rites from ChemicalIn! titutions, from them the Grecians received them, and la! tly the Romans, as wehave in other places abundantly demon! trated.

He ! lew Argus with a piece of a rock or Stone, and turned Battus into a Touch! tone. What need of many words? All the volumes of the Chemi! ts are nothing el! e butrepetitions concerning Mercury, and they ! ufficiently confirm his power by thisone ver! e: IN MERCURIO EST QUICQUID QUAERUNT SAPIENTES: What wi! emen ! eek inMercury is found.

Here therefore he mu! t be ! ought, for ill he may be found, whether he remain inthe Air, the Fire, the Water, or the Earth. For he is wandering, now running hither,now thither, to perform the Services of the Chemick Gods:

He is their Footman, which is declared to be his proper Office, hence ! ome mena! cribe to him a Daughter called Anglia. 

Page 115: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 115/156

109

EM B L E M A XXXVII .Tria ! ufficiunt ad magi ! terium, fumus albus, hoc e ! t, aqua, leo viridis,

id e ! t, æs Hermetis, & aqua fœtida. [Three things are ! ufficient for the Magi! tery: The White Fume that is Water;

The Green Lion that is the Bra! s of Hermes; and Aqua Faetida.] 

EPIGRAMMA XXXVIII.

Terna magi ! terii ! unt ! emina, fœtida Lympha,Et niueus uapor, ac pelle LEO uiridi:

Vnda parens peperit, re ! tant quæ elementa, Sophisque,Vt lapidem faciant, ultima primaque ea e ! t.

 Æs Hermetis at e ! t uiridis LEO, petraque notaLibrorum capitlis, Fumus & albus aqua.

Page 116: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 116/156

Page 117: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 117/156

111

what! oever is perfect in Bra! s, is that greenne! s alone which is in it, becau! e thatGreenne! s is, by our Magi! tery, ! uddenly turned into our mo! t true Gold, and thiswe have experienced.”

But you can no way prepare the Stone without Duenech, green and liquid, whichis ! een to ! pring in our mines. O Ble!! ed Green that do! t generate all Things! For as

you know that no Vegetable or Fruit appears in its Bud without a green Colour, ! oin like manner the generation of this thing is Green, wherefore the Philo! opherscall it the Bud, and ! o far Ro! arius, “This the Philo! opher's Gold and Bra! s andStone.” noted in Chapters, “A Fume Vapour and Water”; the Spittle of Luna,which, joined to the Light of Sol, this Green Lion fights with the Dragon, but isovercome, and in proce! s of time devoured by him; and the Lion being putrefied,Sweetne! s is expected to proceed out of his mouth ( as if had been ! lain by Sam! on), the Dragon getting the upper hand, to fill him! elf with the Lion's fle! h, and awhile afterwards to bur! t of him! elf and Die. From which, ! eeing the Lion's Fat can

daily, by it! elf, cure Fevers, and make Grace and Favour mutually ! pring upbetween King and People that are anointed therewith, there may be made of it amo! t excellent Medicine, which will be mo! t healing in many Maladies.

In the third place follows the White Fume, which if it be coagulated, becomesWater, and performs the Office of Water, in wa! hing, di!! olving, and taking away! pots, like Soap. This, the Fire Again! t Nature, which take care that you find out, is! o called becau! e it is contrary to Nature, undoing and de! troying that which She,with her diligent Care, hath compounded.

This is a Fire not kindled from a ! pirit of wine, or oil, but from an incombu! tiblematter of Equal duration and Heat, and is a Fire without Light and combu ! tion, ofgreat Virtue and Efficacy, which ! eeing it does not ! hine, cannot without difficultybe found in the Dark, but it is ! till more hard to apply it rightly to the work, who! ecircum! tances and properties we have ! ufficiently de! cribed in divers places. 

Page 118: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 118/156

112

EM B L E M A XXXVIII .Rebis, ut Hermaphroditus, na ! citur ex duobus montibus, Mercurii & Veneris. 

[Rebis is a Hermaphrodite produced from the two mountains of Mercury and Venus.] 

EPIGRAMMA XXXVIII.

Rem geminam REBIS ueteres dixêre, quod unoCorpore ! it mas hæc fœminaque, Androgyna.

Natus enim binis in montibus HERMAPHRODITUSDicitur, Hermeti quem tulit alma Venus.

 Ancipitem ! exum ne !  pernas, nam tibi Regem Mas idem, mulierque una eademque dabit.

Page 119: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 119/156

113

DISCOURSE XXXVIII.

Socrates being a! ked what Countryman he was, an! wered that he wasCo! mopolite, or a Citizen of the World, by which his intention was to ! ignify that,though he was born at Athens as to per! on, yet in his mind he could freely run

through the whole world, all things contained in it, and look upon that as hisCountry. For the wi! e man that lives well is at home everywhere.

So if any man a! k the Philo! ophers what Countryman their Hermaphrodite is, theyan! wer that he belongs to the World, or is in all the Corners of the World wherethe Elements can be found as being the Sons of the Wi! e, and con! equently has aCountry common with them.

But in as one man is not born twice or oftener, nor enters into this light in diver! eplaces, but in one only, as Socrates the Athenian is acknowledged to have done, ! o

Rebis is thought to be the Inhabitant of Two mountains, to wit, of Mercury andVenus, from whence the Name of Hermaphrodite is derived to him, from both hisParents.

His hou! e is Mountainous, and his Country is high, and therefore he exi! ts bythings got in a High place. A Noble and large Country are no ! mall helps towardsthe performance of great Actions, for the! e men are promoted to public offices andneed not lie in ob! curity, as it happens to Per! ons born in mean places, where it isdifficult by their proper merit and Virtue, to ari! e from a ! mall fortune to be aglory to their Country.

In this manner the! e mountains, unknown to many men, acquire fame from theHermaphrodite, by rea! on of his Illu! trious actions and Name, famous throughoutall the world. For who, though never ! o little ver! ed in the Books of thePhilo! ophers, hath not heard of the name of Rebis? Who hath not ! een andcon! idered Angrogynus with two heads? His fame has been known even among! tthe Indians, and is di! per! ed farther than that of Alexander. Many go from farCountries to ! ee and di! cour! e with a learned man, or one particularly famous forWar, or any other Art or Science. But many more would travel to the Mountains of

Rebis if they could know where they may be found.Morienus te! tifies in his book, with what Care and Study he departed from Rome,to make diligent ! earch after Adfe! us Alexandrinus, and at la! t found him, and istherefore to be accounted more happy and acceptable to God, in that he had aLiving Teacher, and not Dumb Ma! ters, whereby he might learn and behold thisthing which is the Native place of Rebis.

Page 120: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 120/156

114

Nor mu! t they u! e le! s diligence and a!! iduity who by them! elves, through Rea! on,and out of books, would ! eek for this Country. For though there ! eem to be ! omeclearne! s in them ! ometimes, yet are they ! o Veiled and clouded with intricacy andOb! curity, that it is very difficult to di! tingui! h one thing from another. Whereforewe mu! t cautiou! ly proceed with them, le! t they which are prepared for remedies,

may be u! ed for poi

! ons.

They are an immen! e Ocean, in which expert mariners, ! ailing by A! tronomicalIn! truments, may know the Latitude or the Elevation of the Equator above theHorizon, the Magnet ! howing the North Pole. But as for the Longitude, or howmany degrees they are di! tant from the fir! t meridian which is next to theFortunate I! lands, they cannot di! cover. From whence they are uncertain in whatplace they are between Ea! t and We! t. What is therefore to be done?

That which the ! ame Mariners u! ed to do: con! ult Experience with Rea! on, and

thereby learn how to determine a long Voyage by particular Signs, PromontoriousI! lands, and other things that they may not, for want of con! ideration, fall uponSands and Rocks.

But here is le! s danger if the thing do not pro! per, but if it does, the! e are hopes ofgreater gain, than tho! e who! e goods and life are all lo! t in an hour.

Now this mountain of the Philo! ophical Mercury is not Nonacris, nor Atlas, where! ometimes it is reported to be brought forth, but Parna!! us with two Tops, in oneof which Hermes, and in the other Venus. Here al! o is Apollo and the Mu! es, andHippocrene the Fountain of Pega! us, and Laurels that are always green. It is onemountain in Name, but in reality it is two, as Hermaphroditus is beheld with twoheads and two members in one Body. But what Man of a Thou! and per! i! ts in thea! cending to the Top of this Mountain? Who does not ! top at the bottom beinghindered by variety of Ob! tacles? Who is there almo! t that attains to the Middle ofit?

Wherefore it is no ! trange thing if one in Ten thou! and undertake the! e HerculeanLabours, ! o as to ! et their Foot on the Top of the Mountain, and enjoy the immortalreward of a Laurel garland.

Which all tho! e that are upright, ducible, and addicted to Learning and Virtue,may receive with Joy; but that tho! e that are [not] may be deprived thereof, is al! omuch to be hoped for and de! ired.

Page 121: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 121/156

115

EM B L E M A XXXIX.Œdypus Sphynge ! uperata & trucidato Laio patre matrem ducit in uxorem. 

[Œdipus having overcome Sphinx and killed his father Laius, married his mother.] 

EPIGRAMMA XXXIX.

Sphyngem ænigmatico Thebis ! ermone timendamŒdypus ad propriam tor  ! erat arte necem:

Quæ ! itum e ! t, cui manè pedes  ! int bis duo, luceSed mediâ bini, tres, ubi ue !  per ade ! t.

Victor abhinc Laium nolentem cedere cædet,Ducit & uxorem quæ ! ibi mater erat. 

Page 122: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 122/156

116

DISCOURSE XXXIX.

Baca!! er the Philo! opher in the Turba, “That which you ! eek for,” ! ays he, “is of no! mall value, for you ! eek the greate! t Trea! ure and mo! t excellent gift of God. Andlearn ye, Students, that which the Philo! ophers have longtimes intimated, ! aying

that Truth is not di! cerned but by Error, and that nothing begets more grief to theHeart than Error in this work, for when a man thinks he has done and hath the

World, he ! hall find nothing in his hands.”

The Ancient Philo! ophers would intimate the ! ame things, under the Emblem ofSphinx, and her propo! itions whereby the might ! et forth the Ob! curity amdintricacy of this Art. Hence the Egyptians, in their Sacra I! iaca, which werecelebrated in Honour of O! iris, by mitred Prie! ts with their heads and all parts oftheir body ! haved, and clothes with a white and linen garment down to theirheels, that the! e ! olemnities night not be known or di! covered to the commonpeople, they erected a Statue of Silence, which was called Sigalion, in the front ofthe Altar, the a!! i! tants being enjoined to keep ! ilence and turn their eyes to thatImage. And for the ! ame rea! on they added the Effigies of Sphinx at the Corner,which did repre! ent the phy! ical knowledge of ! acred things, as Boi!! ardus doesfrom Ancient writers demon! trate.

For Sphinx is a kind of mon! ter, propo! ing the mo! t ob! cure Riddles to theThebans, and not only to them, but as ! he had done before to the Egyptians.

So afterwards to others that a! pire to Art, ! he lies watching in the Philo! ophicalbooks, as ! he did before the gates of Thebes: If anyone pa! s by the mon! ter, he! uffers no harm by it, but if through the pre

! umption of his Wit and Courage heendeavour to re! olve its riddles, and cannot perform it, he acquires his own

de! truction which is grief to his heart, and damage to his affairs by his error in thiswork.

He that refers the Allegories to true Hi! tory is utterly mi! taken, for they will ! eemto be childi! h and Fooli! h tales if they be taken literally, but otherwi! e they are! igns and Tokens of profound learning. ( There are ! aid to be in Africa certain wildbea! ts that have the name of Sphinx, but our di! cour! e is not concerning them,though the enigmatical denomination of this fiction ! eems to be derived from

them. )The Sphinx of the Philo! ophers both u! ed and under! tood human ! peech, namelythe Greek, and otherwi! e propo! ed ! ubtle ! entences and enigmatical que! tions, inwhich appears a ! ingular ! harpne! s of under! tanding and learning, and ! uch as areuncommon to men, from which con! equently, Brutes mu! t be very far di! tant.

All that are conver! ant in the a!! ertions of the Philo! ophers, will ea! ily di! coverthem to be of this nature. For where one thing is ! poken and another thing ismeant, there Equivocation will beget Error, and this not only familiar to the

Page 123: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 123/156

Page 124: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 124/156

118

EM B L E M A XL.Ex duabus aquis, fac unam, & erit aqua ! anctitatis. 

[Out of two Waters make One, and that will be the Water of Sanctity] 

EPIGRAMMA XL.

Sunt bini liquido ! alientes gurgite fontes,Hinc Pueri calidam ! uggerit unus aquam:

 Alter habet gelidam, quæ Virginis Vnda uocatur,Hanc illi iungas, ! int aquæ ut una duæ:

Riuus & hic mixtas uires utriusque tenebit,Ceu Iovis Hammonii fons calet atque riget.

Page 125: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 125/156

119

DISCOURSE XL.

The miracles of water are ! o great and ! o many that they can ! carce becomprehended in a large volume, concerning which ! everal Authors have treatedup and down in their writings. But above all there are Two Philo ! ophical waters,

which are celebrated with that name, becau! e they do not only Rival, but al! oexceed the Virtues and properties of all the re! t.

The Rivers Sybaris, Axus of Macedonia, and Melas of Boetia make cattle Black ifthey drink of them. But the Rivers Crathis Clitumnus of Mevaenia, and Cephi!! us,make black cattle White. The waters of Sinue!! a in Campania take away barrenne! sfrom both Sexes. The River Aphrodi! ius makes women barren. Cabiera, aFountain of Me! opotamia, hath a Sweet ! mell. The water of Anyger, in thePeloponne! us, Stinks very much. The Fountain of Jupiter Ammon is cold in theDay time, hot in the Night, in the evening and morning lukewarm by Turns; notto mention many more.

All things although they be contrary one to the other, are performed by the watersof the Philo! ophers. Lully ! peaks of them in his book, “De Quinta E!! entia di! tin: 3de Inarratione.” And ! o there is, ! aith he, a double con! ideration in Art, that is,from one Nature of one metal, to make two contrary liquors in compo! ition: Onethat has a fixing, congealing and hardening quality, the other that is Volatile,unfixed and ! oft. But the ! econd liquor is hardened, fixed and congealed by thefir! t. From both which liquors there re! ults one Stone, congealed, fixed and

hardened, which hath the Virtue of congealing that which is not congealed, ofhardening what is mollified, of mollifying what is hard. From whence it appearswhat the! e two waters are, and why they are to be reduced to One water. For theStone is ! aid to be Water becau! e it is fu! ible, and on the contrary the water iscalled a Stone becau! e it is frangible. But the! e waters are drawn out of differentplaces, ! ometimes by a long tract, as may be ! een in Rome, by the Aqua Virginis,and other Artificial Fountains, and then they are to be mixed by the confluence oftheir water, that from two may be made one. For if one be of a hot, and the otherbe of a cold Virtue, when the! e are mixed together they will acquire mixed

Virtues, and will temper them! elves after a wonderful manner. From hence willari! e the mo! t excellent Baths and medicinal Water, which will di! pell all ! orts ofMaladies and di! ea! es, and re! tore ! ound health to mankind.

Nature does indeed by her hidden Artifice of Compo! ition, confound and minglemany waters with the Virtues of diver! e minerals in the bowels of the Earth,which are beneficial to many ! ick and infirm per! ons. But if Art be added to withdue Rules, ! o that not only the Evacuations of Nature that have been before, but

Page 126: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 126/156

120

tho! e of Art which are to come before, are totally effected ! o that tho! e thingswhich ! hould be mixed are mixed among them! elves, the compo! ition will becomefar more efficacious. Which although it may ! eem Artificial, yet is merely Naturalbecau! e one ! imple Homogenous thing is made out of divers, which can never beeffected by Art.

Art may cau! e a mixed u! e and confu! ion, but without the help of Nature there canbe no true and natural Union, for that is made by Nature only. In Treacle there isan Artificial mixture of Various ! imples, which is made by contrition andfermentation, but no man will affirm it to be a Natural compo! ition, much le! s tobe an Homogenous Medicine.

As to the Artificial mixture of Sub! tances, it is manife! t that the lea! t particles donot enter one into the other, which cannot be divided and ! eparated again by theIndu! try of any man what! oever.

But as to the mixture of all Qualities, we mu! t enquire whether the fir! t Treacles ofall ! imples may pa! s into one Quinte!! ence, or whether they remain ! till in theirfir! t ! ub! tances or powders, as they did before as Accidents in their Subjects, orColours upon a wall. And then what mu! t be ! aid of the ! econd, third, and fourthQualities?

It is probable that all Qualities do ! till adhere to their proper Subjects, and thatthey are not compounded among them! elves with a true and natural mixture;otherwi! e if the qualities ! hould leave their bodies, there would be fourQuinte!! ences in every Artificial compound, according to the number of the Orderof the Qualities fir! t, ! econd and etc., that mu! t be without their bodies, and! eparable, which thing is not ! o.

They write of the Coagulation of the Hare's Blood, that in a flux occa! ioned bythinne! s of blood it do ! top, and as it were, coagulate, but in coagulation andcommixtion it cuts and di!! olves the ! ame, ! o there are contrary operations ofVinegar, and Lead, and many other things, according as their U! e is diver! e,becau! e Nature has mixed them ! o wonderfully. And thus the Philo! ophical waterhas diver! e and contrary Virtues, becau! e Nature by the help of Art, has out of

contraries mixed it into one indivi! ible Sub! tance, which is nothing el! e but aQuinte!! ence, in re! pect of other things that are to be mingled with it. 

Page 127: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 127/156

121

EM B L E M A XLI. Adonis ab apro occiditur, cui Venus accurrens tinxit Ro ! as ! anguine. (Adonis is killed by a Boar, to whom Venus ha! ting, tinges the Ro! es with her Blood.) 

EPIGRAMMA XLI.

Ex patre, Myrrha ! uo pulchrum ! u ! cepit Adonim:Delitias Cypriæ, quem nece  ! trauit aper.

 Accurrit Venus & pede læ ! a cruore ruboremContulit ip ! a ro ! æ, quæ prius alba fuit

Flet Dea (flent Syri, luctus communis in orbe e ! tIllum lactucis mollibus & po ! uit.

Page 128: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 128/156

122

DISCOURSE XLI.

Some of the Mythologi! ts, when they would explain the Allegory of Adonis, ! aythat He is the Sun, and that the Boar by whom he is ! lain is the Winter ! ea! on,Hairy with Fro! t. Others ! ay that He is the ! eed of the Corn, which is ! ix months

under the Earth with Pro! erpine, and ! ix months above the ground with Venus.But how improperly this is done has been ! ufficiently ! hown by us in other places.For we affirm, and that by univer! al con! ent, that by Adonis is to be under! toodthe Sol of the Philo! ophers, according to this ver! e:

OMNIA SUNT IDEM DIONYSUS SOL DYONYSE ADONIS

Diony! us, Sol and Adonis are the ! ame.

And Orpheus:

QUI VARIE CATARIS NOMINE ADONIAdonis Honoured by a Various name,

GERMINUM ET IDEM AUTHOR PARITER PUER A— PUELLA

Author of Buds thou art both Maid and Boy.

Now all the! e things cannot be under! tood of the Cele! tial Sun, but may beunder! tood of the Philo! ophical one: For this expre!! es both Sexes, whereas thatdoes not, and ! o the! e Mythologi! ts attribute the ! ame thing to Diony! us and Sol, asthey do to Adonis; and on the contrary and ! o likewi! e, to O! iris.

But Adonis is ! lain by the Boar, ( that is, by the ! harpne! s of Vinegar, or di!! olvingwater, which hath terrible teeth like a Boar ) and has his members loo! ened andcut off. But Venus endeavours to help her Lover; and when He was dead, laid outand pre! erved him among Lettuces. In the ! ame manner O! iris is ! lain by Typhonand cut into ! everal pieces, which I! is the wife of O! iris gathered up, and having

 joined them together, buried them. The ! ame Mourning which Yearly followed theDeath of O! iris in Egypt, was al! o celebrated after the Death of Adonis, in Syriaand neighbouring Kingdoms when, after Weeping and Lamenting for ! everal days

together, there were great expre!! 

ions of Joy, with Dancing and other Ceremonies,as if he had been Conveyed into Heaven. From hence aro! e the Vanity of theHeathen Religion, or Super! tition, which was va! tly increa! ed by the Devils whothence took occa! ion to promote it and to procure fal! e Miracles.

Adonis was born of Cinyras ( according to the Fable of the King of Cyprus and hisDaughter Myrrhas. ) He is ! aid to be ! prung from a dete! table Ince! t, if we lookupon the Hi! tory; but if we regard the Allegories, it was ! o far from being

Page 129: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 129/156

123

unlawful that in fact it was ab! olutely Nece!! ary. For in this Art nothing can beperfected unle! s it be born from a conjunction between the Mother and the Son,and the Father and his Daughter. For here, by how much nearer in blood, whetherin the Fir! t or Second degree of Con! anguinity, the married couple may be ! omuch more fruitful they will prove; and on the Contrary, the farther remote, ! o

much the more barren, which if taken literally is not to be! uffered.

Hence Oedipus married his mother; Jupiter his ! i! ter; and ! o did O! iris, Saturn, Sol,Servus Rubeus or the Red Servant, and Gabritius.

Sol ! peaks thus of Adonis, that is concerning him! elf, in the Metaphor of Belinus,in the Ro! ary: “Know ye” ! ays he, “that my Father Sol hath given me Power aboveall Powers, and Clothed me with new garments of Glory, for I am his Only Son,and more like my Father, and I dive! t my ! ervants from their power and Nature,and clothe them with my Beautiful ! plendour and Light which my Father gave

me. For I am excellent and do Exalt and Depre! 

s all, and none of my! 

ervants isabove me, but One, who is permitted to be repugnant and Contrary to me, and toDe! troy me, yet he does not de! troy my Nature: He is Saturn, who ! eparates all myparts; afterwards I go to my Mother who gathers together all my divided and! eparated members. I Illuminate all tho! e things that appertain to One, and cau! eLight to appear openly in the way from my Father Saturn, and al! o from mymother who is an Enemy to me.”

The! e words are ! o clear that they may di! pel any Darkne! s that is before the mindof a per! on, never ! o little ver! ed in Reading, who may behold the agreement that

there is between Things and Per! ons. For truths, although hid under the Veils ofAllegories have a wonderful con! ent among them! elves, whereas tho! e thingswhich are fal! e are repugnant and incon! i! tent, both in them! elves and in others. 

Page 130: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 130/156

124

EM B L E M A XLII .In Chymicis uer  ! anti Natura, Ratio, Experientia & lectio,

 ! int Dux, ! cipio, per  !  picilia & lampas. (Nature, Rea! on, Experience and Reading mu! t be the Guide, Staff, Spectacles and Lamp

to him that is employed in Chemical Affairs.) 

EPIGRAMMA XLII. 

Dux Natura tibi, tuque arte pedi !! equus illiE ! to lubens, erras, ni comes ip ! a uiæ e ! t.

Det ratio ! cipionis opem, Experientia firmetLumina, quo po !! it cernere po ! ta procul.

Lectio ! it lampas tenebris dilucida, rerumVerborumque ! trues prouidus ut caueas.

Page 131: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 131/156

Page 132: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 132/156

126

For no man is forced to believe or Act Impo!! ibilities, unle! s he be of a Weakmemory, Dull genius, and fooli! h Imagination to impo! e upon him! elf by takingfal! e thing for True, and rejecting true things as Fal! e. They ! ay likewi! e that theytake no care of the Words that are ! aid, but rather of the Things as they may beUnder! tood; and that words are for Things, and not things for Words. As for

example, if any man! hould a

! k if Gla

! s may be made malleable by thePhilo! ophical Tincture? Well, why ! hould I not believe it, provided rea! on vitiates

it?

Thirdly, Experience will be as ! pectacles by which things may be ! een at a di! tance.The! e are Optic in! truments invented and made by Art, to help and amend theweakne! s of men’s eyes. Not unlike the! e are all Experiments of every kind, thathave been tried about the Mineral matter, whether ! een or truly related, and themore the! e remain in the Memory the more will be drawn from thence by a man ofRea! on, who will compare them with them! elves, and other things, that he may ! ee

what is truth, and what is not.

Fourthly, Reading does as it were, kindle a clear Lamp in the Under! tanding,without which there will everywhere be darkne! s and Thick Clouds. But thereading of Good Authors ought to be often repeated, otherwi! e it will not beprofitable.

Kenar Baca!! ar in the Turba ! aith, “He therefore that is of an even Temper andexerci! es Patience without regret, will go in the right path of this Art. But he thatthinks him! elf able ! ooner to reap benefit from our Books, is deceived, and it had

been better for him not to have looked into or touched them. 

Page 133: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 133/156

127

EM B L E M A XLIII . Audi loquacem vulturem, qui neutiquam te decipit. 

(Give ear to the Vulture’s words, which are in no wi! e fal! e.) 

EPIGRAMMA XLIII.

 Montis in excel ! o con ! i ! tit uertice uultur, A !! isduè clamans; Albus ego atque niger,

Citrinus, rubeu ! que feror nil mentior: idem e ! tCoruus, qui pennis ab ! que uolare ! oletNocte tenebrosâ, mediâque in luce diei,Namque artis caput e ! t ille uel i ! te tuæ.

Page 134: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 134/156

128

DISCOURSE XLIII.

We daily in many places hear Birds ! uch as Parrots, Ravens, Daws and Pyes thatprattle and imitate a Human Voice. Pliny writes that at the ! ame time that hepubli! hed his Hi! tory, Agrippina the wife of Claudius Cae! ar had a Thru! h that

could ! peak, and that the young Cae! ars had a Starling and Nightingales that wereaccu! tomed to the Greek and Latin tongues, and daily ! poke new things in a longthread of words or ! entences. But in as at this time ! uch Birds are more frequentlyto be met with, they are now le! s wondered at, for u! e and Cu! tom will make anyBirds capable of ! peaking, if their Tongues are more broad than ordinary.

But that Vulture which the Philo! ophers mention, has not learnt his words if heutters any by u! e: His own Nature expre!! es them tacitly. But the Philo! ophers ! aythat he continually cries out with a loud voice, who and What he is, in which heimitates great Princes, who in the beginning of their public pronouncements willalways make known what are their inheritances and Titles; not out of Pride, butthat others, ( as well as them! elves ) may know what Principalities they govern (or what rights of Inheritance they pretend to. ) So it is very nece!! ary to knowwhat colours as En! igns of Arms and Titles the Philo! ophic Bird enjoys, andwherein he excels all others.

“I” ! aith he ( as the Ro! ary hath it from Hermes ), “am the Black of white and theCitrine of Red.” And ! uch he really is: For though he doth not as yet actuallypo!! e! s the! e la! t Colours, yet he expects the Inheritance of them. Hereupon ! aith

Ro! inus in his book Divinarum Interpretationum, “Take” ! aith he, “the Stonewhich is Black, white, Red Citrine: That admirable Bird which flies without wingsin the Darkne! s of the night, and in the Clearne! s of the day.” For Colouration istaken from bitterne! s exi! ting in his Throat; but more water is taken from hisBlood, as Alexander ! aith, “Take O my Son the Stone of four Colours.” The booksof the Philo! ophers do abundantly declare that the Stone has all the! e colours,which are Principations in a ! ucce!! ive order.

But it may not be improper to declare why the Philo! ophical Subject is called a

Vulture: Tho! e vultures which are Black, have mo

! t Force and are rapacious, butthey fly ! lowly becau! e of the bulk of their bodies. They ! ay this bird conceives

without the help of the Male, and generates without coition, and their off! pringarrive to a great age; even an hundred years. They build in high Rocks, and noman has touched their ne! ts. Seldom more than two of their Young ones are ! een.They are an a!! i! tance again! t Serpents. They conceive by the Ea! t Wind. Whenthey begin to lay Eggs, they bring a thing out of the Indies, which as a Nut has! omething within it that may be moved, and forthwith yields a Sound, which

Page 135: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 135/156

129

when they have applied it to them! elves they produce many young ones, but oneonly remains, which is called IMMUSULUS. We have the te! timony ofHermodorus Ponticus in Calius, that Vultures are the mo! t innocent of all Animalsbecau! e they touch nothing that Mankind ! ows, plants or feeds; be! ides, they killno living creature. They ab! tain from birds, though dead, by a certain in! tinct of

Affinity. For this rea! on they were accounted the Signs in Divination, as theFoundation of the City of Rome may declare. The Philo! ophical Bird, expre!! ing

almo! t all the! e Qualities of the Vulture, is therefore not unde! ervedly called aVulture by Hermes and others. He is ! low in flight and of Colour Black. Heconceives from him! elf ( for ! o Ro! arius towards the End . ) And he is the Dragonwho marries him! elf and impregnates him! elf and brings forth in his own Sea! on.And Ro! arius to Sarratanta, " And that is the Serpent, Luxuriant in it! elf,impregnating it! elf, and bringing forth in one day. " It lives and endures a verylong time, and multiplies it! elf. For what Virgil writes concerning the Phoenix

agrees likewi! e to this, for it is the ! ame Bird.It is very difficult to climb the ne! t of this Bird. It fights with the MercurialSerpent, and overcomes it, that is Sol. With Luna it is conceived by the wind andcarried in its belly, and born in the Air. The Stone Aetites, containing within it thelittle ! tone ! ounding, is by many men called Totium. One only IMMUSULUS isfound in the ne! t of the Philo! ophers. The Philo! ophic Bird is al! o mo! t Innocentbecau! e it hurts no body; it is beneficial to all that know it, and mo! t excellent inDivinations.

But does he make a Ne! t on the mountains and ! itting there cry out? Ro! inusaccording to Rha! is, gives this an! wer, “Contemplate the Highe! t mountains, boththo! e on the Right hand and tho! e on the Left, and climb up thither. There ourStone is found, and in another mountain which produces all ! orts of Printer'scolours, and Spirits or ! pecies, there it is likewi! e.” Likewi! e Morienus ! ays,“A! cend the High mountains covered with Trees, becau! e there our Stone is foundand hidden.” And Hermes ! ays, “Take you the Ble!! ed Stone and break it to ! mallpieces, and wa! h the Red Stone from which is extracted that which is found inMountains, and E! pecially in old Sinks or Shores. “ 

Page 136: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 136/156

130

EM B L E M A XLIV.Dolo Typhon O ! yridem trucidat, artu ! que illius hinc inde di !! ipat,

 ! ed hos collegit I  ! is inclyta. (Typhon kills O! iris by deceit, and di! per! es his limbs. But the famous I! is

gathered them together.) 

EPIGRAMMA XLIV.

Syria Adonidem habet, Diony ! um Græcia, O ! irim Ægyptus, qui ! unt nil ni ! i SOL Sophi

ISIS ade ! t ! oror, & coniunx ac mater O ! iris,Cuius membra Typhon di !! ecat, illa ligat.

Defluit at pudibunda mari pars, !  par  ! a per undas,Sulphur enim, SULPHUR quod generauit, abe ! t.

Page 137: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 137/156

131

DISCOURSE XLIV.

In the fir! t book of our Hieroglyphics we have fully explained and reduced theAllegory of O! iris to its true Original, which is Chemical. And though we ! hall notrepeat that, yet we ! hall make a di! cour! e parallel to it, whereby we may retain

O! iris within the bounds of Ancient Chemi! try, all which has been ! o often ! ung ofand figured out by the Ancient Poets. For you can never po!! ibly per! uade me thatO! iris was a God, or a King of Egypt. For to me the contrary to both ! eemsapparent from ! everal circum! tances. He is indeed the Sun, but it is thePhilo! ophical one. Now that name being often attributed to him, the Vulgar whoread it, and knew of no other Sun but that which gives light to the World,interpreted it in that ! en! e.

The Sun of the Philo! ophers has its denomination from the ! un of the World,becau! e it contains tho! e properties of Nature which de! cend from the cele! tialSun, or are agreeable to it. Therefore Sol is O! iris, Diony! us, Bacchus, Jupiter,Mars, Adonis, Oedipus, Per! eus, Achilles, Triptolemus, Pelops, Hippomanes,Pollux. And Luna is I! is, Juno, Venus the Mother of Oedipus, Danae, Deidaneira,Atalanta, Helena; as al! o Latona, Semele, Leda, Antiope, Thalia. The! e are the partsof that compound which before the Operation is called the Stone; and by theName of every metal, Magne! ia.

After operation it is called Orcus, Pyrrhus, Apollo, Ae! culapius. The Adjuncts areTyphon, Python, the Boar. The Arti! ts are Hercules, Uly!! es, Ja! on, Perithous. And

the labours and dangers which tho! e Arti! ts underwent were innumerable. Wemay ! ee the Labours of Hercules, the Errors of Uly!! es, the Dangers of Ja! on, theEndeavours of The! eus, the Remor! e of Perithous. This is the great volume ofMatter and Doctrine, through which in every page, Saturn, Mercury and Vulcando often occur: The fir! t as Father of all, the Cau! e without which nothing can beeffected; the ! econd as the matter or form; the third as the Efficient. Sol takes Lunahis Si! ter to be his wife, Jupiter takes Juno, as Saturn Rhea, and O! iris does I! is.Diony! us is ! natched out of his mother Semele, who was burnt by the thunder of

 Jupiter, that ! o he may come to maturity in the thigh of his Father Jupiter.

Ae! culapius from his Mother Coronis; Diony! us being grown up ! hows men theU! e of Wine, making an Expedition as far as the Indies; O! iris and Triptolemusthat of Corn, and how to ! ow it; and Ae! culapius that of Medicine. The Greeks callhim Diony! us, the Latins Bacchus, the Egyptians O! iris, and the Syrians Adonis.Oedipus killed his Father and married his Mother. Per! eus ! lew his Grandfather;Typhon his brother O! iris; and the Boar, Adonis; Ceres the Nur! e of Triptolemus,his Father Eleu! iris. Hippomanes overcame Atalanta by a Golden Apple; Tantalus

Page 138: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 138/156

132

the father of Pelops, obtained Hippodamia by overcoming her in a race ofChariots. O! iris being cut in pieces, was joined together again by I! is, his mother,! i! ter and wife. The child Pelops was boiled and dre!! ed, his ! houlder eaten byCeres and again returned to life, an Ivory ! houlder being added to him. Achillesand Triptolemus were put under coals of fire by Night, and in the Day time

nouri! hed by milk; one by Ceres his nur

! e, the other by his mother Thetis. Achillesand Helena were the Cau! es of the Trojan War: She as the Impul! ive, he as the

Efficient cau! e. Helena was hatched from an Egg, and at the Nuptials of Peleusand Thetis from whom Achilles de! cended, that apple of Eris [Di! cord] which wasthe the fir! t cau! e of the Rape of Helena, was thrown about. Pollux was a!! i! ting tothe Argonauts, who are ! uppo! ed ( if ever they lived at all ) to have lived at lea! tfifty Years before the Trojan War began, and both he and Helena were producedout of one Egg, therefore Helena was an old woman when ! he was ravi! hed byParis. Medea when an old woman, and without a tooth in her Head, was married

to Achilles in the Ely! ian Fields ( unle! s ! he re! tored youth to her! elf, as ! he did toAe! on the father of Ja! on, and as Ceres did to Pelops, for which rea! on he is ! aid tohave been twice Young. ) Per! eus received a flying Hor! e from Pallas, and inrecompen! e brought the head of Medu! a to Her to whom Mercury gave aScymiter, and the re! t of the gods other Weapons. Ceres gave Triptolemus aChariot with flying Dragons. When Pallas was born of the Brain of Jupiter, and Solwas in conjunction with Venus, it rained gold at Rhodes. And Jupiter in the formof a golden Shower lay with Danae, as a Swan with Leda; as a Cuckoo with hisSi! ter Juno; as a Bull with Europa; as a Satyr with Antiope.

And ! o there is a concord in them all. 

Page 139: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 139/156

133

EM B L E M A XLV.Sol & eius umbra perficiunt opus. 

(The Work is perfected by Sol and his Shade.) 

EPIGRAMMA XLV.

Sol, fax clara poli, non corpora den ! a penetrat,Hinc illi adver  ! is partibus umbra manet:

Vilior hæc rebus quamuis est omnibus, usu Attamen Astronomis commoda multa tulit:

Plura Sophis ! ed dona dedit SOL, eius & umbra, Auriferæ quoniam perficit artis opus.

Page 140: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 140/156

134

DISCOURSE XLV.

As a light kindled in a Round or Spherical Palace enlightens all the wall above orbelow, except where ! ome Table or uten! il in the middle ob! tructs its influences, ! olikewi! e the Sun being placed in the va! t Arch of Heaven illuminates with its Rays

all the concavity of Heaven, and tho! e Bodies which are contained in it that areDiaphanous and capable of receiving light; that is all the Stars, both theWandering and the fixed, except where the Thickne! s of the intermediate Earthprohibits it. For there a black ! hade or Darkne! s, which is called Night, remains ! olong till it is driven away by the Sun, and light is poured out and beheld in its! tead. Shade therefore, or Night, is the Privation or ab! ence of Solar Light, and Dayon the contrary is the irradiation and Circumfu! ion of it. Shade is that whichcannot endure the a! pect of the Sun, and therefore ab! conds it! elf, and avoids it,! ometimes in this, ! ometimes in another part of the Earth, according as the Sun is

in oppo! ition to it. The Sun and Shade never yet ! aw one another, although ifNature would admit it they might do it every moment. But the Sun con! ideringher as an Enemy to him! elf, always pur! ues her whil! t ! he flys ! o that he can neverweary her ! o as to overtake her, as Buchannan ! ays in his Book of the Sphere. Afterthe Image and example of that great Sun and his ! hade, the Philo! ophers haveob! erved that their Sun likewi! e has a black cloudy flying ! hadow. Hence Hermes! aith, “My ! on, extract its ! hadow from the Ray.” That is, ! ee that you bring yourSun round about by the Primum Mobile over which Vulcan pre! ides, that that partof the earth which is now covered with a ! hady night may enjoy the clear light ofthe Sun. For if the whole Firmament of Heaven, with all that is contained in it,were not carried round in each Natural day, that is in the ! pace of four and twentyhours by its fir! t motion, but the Sun ! hould move by its proper motion, which iscalled the ! econd or annual one, tho! e Antipodes who are below us would havenight for almo! t the ! pace of ! ix months, and we in the meantime ! hould havedaylight, and ! o on the contrary ! o that the whole Year would con! i! t of One dayand One night, as it is now under both the poles as Rea! on and experience ! howsus. But it hath plea! ed Divine Providence to order it otherwi! e, which therefore

ordered Two motions of the Planets: The fir! t and

! econd, and

! o di

! tributed theYear into many days.

Now the Shade and the Sun do together make a day and night, which the Sun byit! elf alone could not do. It is its property to Illuminate all Bodies and places thatare oppo! ite to it, but it is by accident only that its ab! ence makes a Shade. So al! othe Philo! ophical Sun with its ! hade make a day that is Light, and Darkne! s ornight. To wit, Latona or Magne! ia, who! e ! hade (as Democritus ! ays in the

Page 141: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 141/156

Page 142: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 142/156

136

EM B L E M A XLVI. Aquilæ duæ, una ab ortu, altera ab occa ! u conveniunt. 

[Two Eagles come together: One from the Ea! t, and the other from the We! t.] 

EPIGRAMMA XLVI.

Iupiter è DELPHIS aquilas mi ! i !! e gemellasFertur ad Eôas Occidua ! que plagas:

Dum medium explorare locum de ! idereat Orbis,(Fama ut babet) Delphos hæ rediêre  ! imul. A ! t illæ lapides bini sunt, unus ab ortu, Alter ab occa ! u, qui bene conveniunt.

Page 143: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 143/156

137

DISCOURSE XLVI.

Ciaro, in his book of the Nature of the Gods, declares the mo! t Ancient Apollo tobe the Son of Vulcan, the Defender of Athens; which opinion is very true, when asit ought to be, it is tran! ferred to an Allegory. For Vulcan produces the

Philo! ophical Sun which is Apollo. But the opinion of his being the ! on of Jupiterhas prevailed. For when Latona has twins in her womb, that is Apollo and Diana,which ! he had conceived by Jupiter, Juno being jealous, ! ent Python, a Serpent of aVa! t magnitude, to per! ecute and Vex her whil! t ! he was with child. The mi! erablewoman, after many and tedious wanderings, was at length carried by a ! hip intothe I! land of Ortygia, to her ! i! ter A! teria, who governed the! e and that I! land,being almo! t wholly overflown with the Sea; yet afforded place for Latona whil! t! he was in Travail; from whence it was called Delos or, “Manife! t”, which beforewas, [here a word in Greek] or “Not manife! t.”

There ! he brought forth her children: The fir! t that came forth was Diana, and ! hedid the office of a Midwife to her Mother, who laboured in the birth of her brotherApollo. From whence it came to pa! s women in Travail call upon her Deity by thenames of Diana, or Ilithyia, becau! e ! he ! hows Light to Infants newly born, theirEyes being opened. Apollo therefore being born and grown up, ! lew Python theTormentor of his Mother, with his Arrows. He likewi! e ! lew the Cyclops, becau! ethey made Thunder for Jupiter to de! troy his Son, Ae! culapius: For it was withThunder that Jupiter ! truck him down to Hell becau! e he had re! tored Hippolitas

to life, that had been torn in pieces by Hor! es.

That the! e things are merely Chemical we have demon! trated in many places. ForLatona, Cynthia, Apollo and Python are requi! ites of this Art, which have ! uchrelations one to another, as have been declared before. For the! e ! ame things, beingdivulged in the Writings of the mo! t Ancient Poets, as Orpheus, Linus, Mu! eusand Homer, they gave occa! ion to the Ignorant to a! cribe religious wor! hip andVeneration to Apollo, and to erect Innumerable Temples to him, both in Europeand A! ia. But that which was mo! t celebrated was at Delos, where there was a Va! tnumber of Statues made of Solid gold and ! ilver, of great weight and Artifice,

being there e! poiled by many Kings and Princes, with other mo! t precious gifts[which had been] pre! ented by all ! orts of per! ons out of their peculiar devotion.

Pau! anius relates that there was a Bronze Skeleton of admirable workman! hiphung up at the Top of the Temple by Hippocrates. There was likewi! e that famousTripos, which Mulciber made and gave to Pelops, that was afterwards con! ecratedto Apollo by Pelops, when he married Hippodamia, the Daughter of Onomeus,King of Elis. This was erected in the middle of the Temple where Pythia, ! itting

Page 144: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 144/156

138

upon it, received the In! piration of the Devil breaking forth from a profoundHollow, and being filled with it, prophe! ied and gave an! wers to tho! e whoenquired after the events of things to come. Delphos was ! eated near the foot ofParna!! us in Boetia; not far from the Temple was the Divining Fountain namedCa!! ietis, which extingui! hed ! uch burning Torches as were brought near it, but if

they were removed afar of, they! uddenly took fire and were rekindled. The waterof the ! ame fountain gave a power of prophe! ying to ! uch as drank of it, but then

their lives were ! hortened by it. There being a concour! e therefore from all parts ofEurope and A! ia to the Delphic Oracles, the Poets feigned that Parna!! us was inthe middle of the Earth, and that they proved by an example of Jupiter, who hadmade experiment of it by ! ending forth two Eagles. But this thing not being! upported by the Credit of any Hi! tory it may not be repugnant to the Truth toa! cribe it to Chemical matters, e! pecially in as Apollo, in all his Circum! tances andhis Original, has before been declared to be Chemical; although afterwards the

Devil confirmed the ! uper! tition of men, and under that Name gave forthProphe! ies.

The two Eagles are two Stones, one of which comes from the Ea! t, the other fromthe We! t, as the Philo! ophers have many ways demon! trated. Jupiter has ! ent themforth as his En! ign-bearers. The Eagle ! eems indeed to be the Friend of Apollo, orSol, becau! e ! he proves her young ones by the Sunbeams, and di! owns tho! e asillegitimate who cannot endure them. Its feathers are reputed not to putrefy,although mixed with other things, and that they devour the feathers of otherbirds, and that they ea! ily admire of being gilded. It does not die of old Age or! ickne! s, but of Hunger. For the upper part of his Beak grows ! o crooked that hecannot feed him! elf, which having ca! t off, he plunges him! elf three times in afountain, and is ! aid by the! e means to be re! tored to Youth again. Hence theP! almi! t ! ays, “Thy Youth ! hall be renewed like that of an Eagle.”

This of all birds is never affected with Thunder. It has war with the Dragon whotherefore hunts after its Eggs. All the! e endor! ements of its Nature have givenocca! ion to the Philo! ophers in their Art, to extol the Eagle and liken their Stone toit. There are innumerable Examples of this Kind in their Books, which at pre! ent

we Shall not Mention. 

Page 145: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 145/156

139

EM B L E M A XLVII .Lupus ab Oriente & Canis ab Occidente uenientes ! e inuicem momorderunt. 

[The Wolf coming from the Ea! t and the Dog coming from the We! thave bitten each other.] 

EPIGRAMMA XLVII.

Hinc, ubi Sol oritur, Lupus aduenit, a ! t ubi Ponto Mergitur, inde canis, qui duo bile tument:

Hunc is, & hic illum, stimulate furore momordit,Et rabidus rictu ui ! us uterque fuit.

Sunt gemini hi lapides, gratis qui dantur ubique

Omnibus atque omni tempore, quos teneas.

Page 146: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 146/156

Page 147: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 147/156

141

afterwards fly away, becau! e the Soul hath Perforated it. And in like manner, theTincture of the ! oul hath perforated and Mixed with the Body, and the Body hathcontained the Soul and refrains the Natural flying of it. “

And then to one demanding which of the two Stones was Stronge! t, he an! wers,“That ! tone which is No ! tone, is ! tronger than the Other Enemy. But if Red is

Stronger than that which hath Strengthened his Companions by his Fortitude, theOriental Wolf is therefore Stronger than the Occidental Dog, although he does notobtain the Effect of his Victory but by falling Together with his Enemy.”

For the tingeing poi! on is produced from both. The Differences therefore betweenthe Wolf and the Dog is but ! mall, for a Ma! tiff or dog may appear with the formor kind of a Wolf, ! o as to ! eem to have been a wolf Originally, but to have becometame running through many Generations. After the ! ame manner, Sulphur andMercury differ but little from one another, becau! e That proceeds from This, and

This from That: Mercury indeed begat Sulphur, but Sulphur Purged Mercury, andrendered it to it! elf.

The ! ame Ro! inus a! ks the! e que! tions,

“Whence comes its Colour?”And an! wers, “From its Mo! t inten! e bitterne! s.””Whence comes its bitterne! s and Intention?”An! wer, “From the impurity of the Metal.””Is its red Colour never Suporeminent?”He an! wers, “Yes.”And again he a! ks, “Is it never hotter than fire?”An! wer, “Fire in re! pect of it is as water in re! pect of fire.”Again, Que! tion, “Is it not ! tronger then fire?”He an! wers, “Not, when then do you a!! ert it to be ! tronger than fire.”He an! wers, “Becau! e Fires meeting together do de! troy one another.”

It is therefore manife! t that one is the food and aliment of the other. And ! o muchas the one Increa! es, the other Decrea! es, till that which increa! es, Prevails, and theDragon devours the Serpent.

In great Battles it Often happens that they who undergo the greate ! t Slaughter,win the field and Victory. So al! o, though the Dog lie Pro! trate, yet he was not ! oOvercome at his death but that he could [not] hold his Enemy ! o fa! t, that as theother could not live without Him, ! o neither could he without the Other. 

Page 148: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 148/156

142

EM B L E M XLVIII .Rex ab aquis potatis morbum, à medicis curatus ! anitatem obtinet. 

[The King obtains Sickne! s from drinking of the Waters;from the Care of the Phy! itians, Health]

EPIGRAMMA XLVIII.

Diuitiis populi ! que potens Rex fontis amauit,Portarià ! eruis quas ! ibi po ! cit, aquas:

Has bibit & rebibit uenas mox inde repletusDi ! color à claris ! u ! ipitur medicis;

 Aquibus ut purgatus erat ! udoribus, aluo,

Oreque, mox tincta est utraque mala ro ! is.

Page 149: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 149/156

143

DISCOURSE XLVIII.

Xerxes, that mo! t powerful King of Per! ia, Leading his Army through dry anduninhabited Countries, in the mid! t of Extreme heat, being very thir! ty did notrefu! e a draught of Muddy water Offered him by a Soldier, but drank mo! t

plentifully and gave a Very large reward to him that brought it. And indeed if aman at this time (as ! ome of our Late! t Hi! torians affirm) ! hould travel through theDomains of Per! ia, he would ! eldom meet with fountains of Fre! h Water, for theirStanding Waters are Bracki! h, and the Soil it! elf upon the ! urface has a very greatSaltine! s.

After the ! ame manner, the King of the Philo! ophers, being tormented with thir! t,Commands his ! ervants to bring him plenty of fre! h Water, which being broughthim, he drinks till he is Satiated, as appears by the Allegory of Merlin: DiversPhy! icians undertook the cure of the King that was Sick and di! coloured. TheEgyptians admini! tering their Medicine, ! tirred the Humours whil! t they were yetcrude; whereas Hippocrates ! ays they mu! t be concocted before they be purged,unle! s [they] be ! tirring and fluxible, for then they mu! t Immediately be Expelled,le! t they make an Effort and fall upon the more Noble parts: Hereupon [are]dangerous Symptoms as Happen to the King.

But the Phy! icians of Alexandria coming afterwards, and being E! teemed moreSucce!! ful in Chronic di! ea! es, re! tored the King to his former health.

(It is very well worthwhile to cure ! o great a King, who being made healthy,Extends a Liberal hand, and a Serene a! pect to his phy! ician. We have read howmany men's cures have been Nobly rewarded by ! everal Kings, as that ofDemonides by Policrates; Tyrant of Samos with two talents Era! i! trati, who asPliny writes, was the di! ciple of Chry! ippus and the ! on of Ari! totle's Daughter; aslikewi! e Jacop Coeterius, phy! ician to Louis the 2nd, King of France, from whencehe received a Salary of four Thou! and crowns a Month; not to mention moreModern in! tances.)

But the cure of this King is accompanied with a reward that is ! till far greater. For

as Hermes and Geber in the Ro! ary, “He that can once complete this Art, if he! hould live a thou! and Thou! and Years, and Every day ! hould feed four Thou! andmen, he could not want.” And Senior confirms this by ! aying, “He that has thisStone from which the Elixir is made, is ! o rich that he can, like the man that hasfire, give to whom he will, and when he will, and as much as he will, without hisown Danger, or the want of it.”

Page 150: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 150/156

144

The Father of Democritus was ! o Rich that he gave a Fea! t to the Army of Xerxes;and Pitheus, a man Exceedingly wealthy, offered the ! ame prince that he wouldpay his whole Army and find them provi! ion for five Months, provided that theYounge! t of his five Sons, who was the Comfort of his Old age, might Stay athome with him and not be forced to go into the King's Army. But the Barbarous,

Ba! ely rejecting his petition, commanded the Youth to be cut in two pieces andimpaled on Either ! ide of the Highway through which the whole army was to

pa! s, as Sabellicus relates in the Second Book of his Enneads-

But the wealth of the! e Men are Nothing to the Riches of this King, which arewithout Number or Dimen! ion. Being cured and freed from the waters all theKings and potentates of Other Regions have Honoured and feared him, and whenthey would ! ee any of his wonderful works, they put one ounce of Mercury, wellwa! hed, in a Crucible, and ca! t thereupon as it were, one grain of Millet ! eed of hisNails or his Hair or his Blood, and blowing gently with coals, they let it cool with

them, and found ! uch a Stone as I know.

This is he of whom Count Bernard makes mention, that he can give to his ! ixcourtiers as much of his Kingdom as he him! elf po!! e!! es, provided they wait tillhe recovers his Youth, in the Bath, and be adorned with various Garments, to wit:a Black brea! tplate, a White Shirt, and Purple Blood. For then he promi! es to give! ome of his blood to Every One of them, and make them partakers of his riches. 

Page 151: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 151/156

145

EM B L E M A XLIX.Infans Philo ! ophicus tres agno ! cit patres, ut Orion.

[The Philo! ophical Child acknowledges three fathers, ju! t as Orion]

EPIGRAMMA XLIX.

Fabula narratur, Phœbus, Vulcanus & HermesInpellem bubulam ! emina quod fuerint;

Tre ! que Patres fuerint magni simul ORIONIS:Quin Sobolem Sophiæ ! ic tripatrem esse ferunt:SOL etenim primus, Vulcanus at e !! e ! ecundus

Dicitur, huic præ ! tans tertius arte pater.

Page 152: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 152/156

146

DISCOURSE XLIX.

Women that keep Company with many Men, Seldom conceive Living Children,for Nature Very ! eldom admits of a Superfætation; Hence whatever Off! pring isborn, whether it be one or More individuals, they proceed from one Father and

Mother.There is a Remarkable in! tance in Hi! tory, of Margaret the wife of Herman, Earl ofHenneberg, who in the Year 1276, bore 365 children, which were all Chri! tened;the males by the name of John, the females yet of Elizabeth. All died and wereburied in the Church of Lau! den in Holland, about a mile from the Hague,towards the ! ea. And in the ! ame place may ! till be ! een the Brazen ba! in in whichthey were bapti! ed, with an in! cription of the whole ! tory. The rea! on given for itis that the Counte! s, ! eeing a poor woman with twins in her arms, called her anAdultre! s, as if it were impo!! ible for more than one [child] to be conceived at onebirth from one man. But yet they Nece!! arily ! pring from Divers; whereupon thepoor woman, knowing her! elf clear from any guilt, made this imprecation: that theCounte! s her! elf might at one time by one man conceive as many Children as therewere Days in the Year. This is a Miracle; but [yet] a Natural work, whichhappened by the Divine Vengeance.

But in the Philo! ophical work, that which is Otherwi! e contrary to Nature, is Ea! ilyadmitted under the Veil of an Allegory. For here One off! pring is ! aid to haveThree Fathers, and likewi! e ! o many Mothers. Hence Raymond, as cited by the

Ro! ary, ! ays, “Our infant has two Fathers and two Mothers, and becau! e he withhis whole Sub! tance is tenderly Nouri! hed in fire, therefore he never dies:” SoDiony! us or Bacchus is called “Bimatur”: as having two Mothers; who when hisMother was burnt, before the time of his Maturity was taken out of her belly and! owed into his Father's thigh, who thereupon became Father and Mother, too.

But the! e things are better declared in the Conception of Orion, who is ! aid to havebeen produced by the ! eeds of Apollo, Vulcan and Mercury mixed together, andpre! erved in the hide of an Ox for ten Months. Now all this would not Only be

fabulous, but Mon! trous, unle

! s the Secret of Nature, that is not Obvious to allmen, lay hid under it.

Lully in his Theoretica Te! tamenti, attributes as many and almo! t the ! ame Fathersto his Philo! ophic birth, to wit: Sol who is Apollo or the Cele! tial Sun, the fir! tAuthor of this Generation, who by his un! peakable Occult and A! tral power,works upon a Contained Matter known to the Philo! ophers, as upon the Matrix ofa Woman, and in that produces a Son or Off! pring like him! elf, to whom

Page 153: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 153/156

147

afterwards he will lea! e and re! ign his Arms and En! igns of Virtue as belonging tohim of by right of Inheritance, that is: the Faculty of Maturating things immature,and the Energy of Tingeing and purging things Not tinged or purged. Forwhat! oever Sol perfects in a Thou! and Year, his Son can perform in half an Hour.

Therefore that his Virtue may be 1000 times Stronger then that of Sol, his father

delivers him to Vulcan, and the Arti! t for Education, that his generous di! po! itionmay be improved and multiplied in Strength by their Means and A!! i! tance. For itis Manife! t to be very Advantageous to be accu! tomed to a thing from [the time of]a child. So Achilles, Ja! on, and Hercules were for the ! ame intent committed toChiron to be in! tructed. For Milo the Crotonian, who carried a Calf when he was aboy, by cu! tom came to be able to carry an Ox when he grew to be a Man.Therefore, tis not without rea! on that Vulcan and the Arti! t are ! aid to be theFathers of this Child, as well as Sol. For as he was the cau! e of his Being at fir! t, ! othe! e Make him ! uch as he is and ! o great as he appears to be. No Equivalent

Reward can be made to Ma! ters for In! titution, no more than to parents forGeneration. The! e di! po! e the Body; they the Mind. And ! o no le! s recompen! e isdue to one than to the Other of them.

In the production of Orion, Mercury contributes matter; Apollo the form; andVulcan the Heat or Efficient cau! e. And ! o it is likewi! e nece!! ary in the Philo! ophicwork that the! e Three Fathers ! hould ! eem to Con! pire together for the Birth of oneoff! pring, that is to be the Darling of the Philo! ophers. 

Page 154: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 154/156

148

EM B L E M A L.Draco mulierem, & hæc illum interimit,  ! imulque ! anguine perfunduntur . 

[The Dragon kills the woman, and ! he kills it, & togther they bathe in the blood]

EPIGRAMMA L.

 Alta uenenoso fodiatur tumba Draconi,Cui mulier nexu ! it bene uncta ! uo:

Ille maritalis dum carpit gaudia lecti,Hæc moritur cum qua sit Draco tectus humo.Illius hinc corpus morti datur, atque cruore

Tingitur: Hæc operis ! emita ueratui est

Page 155: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 155/156

149

DISCOURSE L.

The Man! ion of Dragons is in Caverns of the Earth; but of Men upon the Earth, inthe Immediate Air; which two Elements are contrary and yet are appointed by thePhilo! opher to be joined together, that one may act upon the Other. But by the

Woman, Others under! tand the Eagle, as Ba! il in his Second Key, for tis notconvenient ( ! ays he ) for an Eagle to place her ne! t upon the Alps, becau! e herYoung ones would die by the coldne! s of the Snow upon the top of the Mountains,but if you add to the Eagle a cold Dragon, that hath a long time had his Habitationin the rocks, and is crept out of the caverns of the Earth, and put them both into aninfernal Cell, then will Pluto blow, and by his la! t, draw a Fiery Volatile Spiritfrom the cold Dragon, which with its great Heat will burn the Eagle's Feathers andExcite a Sudorifick Bath, as will melt the Snow upon the top of the Mountains, andturn it into Water, from whence a Mineral Bath may be well prepared, to

contribute health and Fortune to the King.

This reward is wonderful, that a cold Dragon ! hould Yield a fiery Spirit, yetExperience declares it to be true: in Burnt Serpents that ! end forth a venomousflame, poi! oning tho! e that ! tand by it. Nor is it without rea! on that pre! ervers ofthe Chemical trea! ures ! hould be called “Flaming Dragon! ”; and “Keepers of theGolden Fleece”; [of] “The Garden of the He! peride! ”; and that of Cadmus andothers.

For this Dragon lives in Strait places of Subterranean Rocks, which you mu! t take

[of or from] there, and join it to the Eagle, or Woman to her in her grave, or to theOther ( if you would rather have it ! o ) in her ne! t. For tis the Nature of the Dragon! ometimes to lie in wait for the Eagle's Eggs, and wage Mortal war with the Eagle.There are Some Greek writers that Report that in times pa! t, a Dragon fell in lovewith a Maid, and lay with her. What wonder then if the Philo! ophers would havetheir Dragon Shut up in the ! ame cavern with the woman? Greverus joins Red andBlack Dragons together in the Deep gulf of the mountains, and burns them withfire, and the black ones peri! hing he ! aith, " The Keeper of the mountain Searchethfor them everywhere, and he brings them to the Mountain. " Merlin, in his Vi! ion,

if it be not Suppo! itious, makes Mention of a White and Red Dragon. The! eDragons, what! oever they be, whether one be a Woman, or female Dragon, do actMutually until they both die, and Emit blood from their wounds wherewith theyare both Embued.

But hereby the Dragon is under! tood [to be] the Element of Earth and Fire; and bythe Woman tho! e of Air and Water. Whence the Clangor Buccinæ  ! aith, “TheDragon is the Matter remaining in the Bottom, after the water is di! tilled from it.”

Page 156: Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

8/18/2019 Maier - Atalanta Fugiens.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/maier-atalanta-fugienspdf 156/156

And according to Hermes, “The water of the Air, being between Heaven andEarth, is the Life of Every thing, for that water di!! olves a body into a Spirit, andmakes a live thing of a dead thing, and con! titutes Marriage between Man andWoman, for it makes the whole Benefit of the Art.” And of the Earth he ! ays thus,“And moreover, under! tand that the particular earth which we tread upon is not

the true Element: Yea, it is Elemented from its true fifth Element. Nor doth thefifth Elemental Sub! tance recede from its Elemented Body from which the Earth isformed.” And a little after, “But the Virgin and true Element, which Fire cannotburn, is in the Center of the earth. This is the Dragon whereof we ! peak,in! inuating it! elf, even into the Center of the earth, where the heat being great, itconceives within it! elf a Flaming heat, wherewith it burns the woman or Eagle.”

But the woman or Eagle is an airy water, which ! ome call the white or Cele! tialEagle, and Endeavour to make it the Common Mercury or Sublimed Salt, for thereMen that feign them! elves as Quick Sighted as Lineus, [are] but indeed blind in

this Art. But Count Bernard ! ays in his Epi! tle, “Verily I ! ay unto You, that Nowater will di!! olve a Metallic Species by Natural reduction, but that whichcontinues with it in matter and form, and which the Metals them! elves canrecongeal, and a little after. Nor doth that water pertain to bodies in Solutionswhich doth not remain with them in congelation.” And not far after, “Verily I ! ayunto you, that the Oil which Naturally incerates and joins Natures together, andN t ll i t d th M di i i t Oth b di th t t b ti d i t