The motto is as plain as a farmyard: Sol indiget Luna, ut Gallus Gallina , "The Sun needs the Moon, as the cock needs the hen." It is the thirtieth emblem of Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens , and it says in a single homely sentence what dozens of alchemical treatises say in long paragraphs: nothing is made by one principle alone. The Sun, king of the sky and symbol of gold, cannot work without the Moon, and the great fire of the cosmos finds its partner in a barnyard pair. A Book to See and to Hear Atalanta Fugiens , "Atalanta Fleeing," was printed in Oppenheim in 1617 and 1618 by the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry. Its author, Michael Maier, was a German physician with ties to the imperial court of Rudolf II. The book holds fifty emblems, and each one has three parts: a motto, an engraved picture and a verse epigram with a prose discourse. What sets the book apart is that each emblem also comes with a musical fugue for three voices. Maier wanted the rea...

A young man in a short tunic and cloak stands before a tall, ornate gate set in a long garden wall. The gate has pointed towers and a carved arch, and it is closed. Beyond the wall, trimmed beds and paths lie in order. In the distance, a group of men sit on a hill. This is the twenty-seventh emblem of Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens, and its motto says: whoever tries to enter the Philosophical Rosary without the key is like a man who wants to walk without feet. The book was printed in 1617 at Oppenheim. It has fifty emblems, and each one joins an engraving, a Latin verse, a prose discourse and a fugue for three voices. The engravings are attributed to the workshop of Matthäus Merian. Maier, a physician at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, made the book to be seen, read and sung. The Motto The Latin line is blunt. To try the gate without the key is as foolish as trying to walk without feet. There is no other way in. The young man in the picture stands with his arms folded agai...

A great fire roars on the right, with thick smoke curling over it. An armored knight with sword and shield stands before it. At his side a naked woman raises one arm, her long hair falling behind her. Beyond them a castle sits on a hill. This is the twentieth emblem of Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens, and its motto says: nature teaches nature to overcome fire. The book was printed in 1617 at Oppenheim. It has fifty emblems, and each one joins an engraving, a Latin verse, a prose discourse and a fugue for three voices. The engravings are attributed to the workshop of Matthäus Merian. Maier, a physician at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, wanted the book to be seen, read and sung. The Motto The Latin line says that nature teaches nature. The verse that goes with it compares the flame to a dragon that devours whatever it meets. Fire is strong, greedy and hard to stop. The emblem does not answer fire with a weapon from outside. It answers with something of the same order. Nature,...