Music from 'Atalanta fugiens' emblem 15
Michael Maier's alchemical emblem book Atalanta fugiens was first published in Latin in 1617. It was a most amazing book as it incorporated 50 emblems with a motto, an epigram and a discourse, but extended the concept of an emblem book by incorporating 50 pieces of music the 'fugues' or canons. In this sense it was an early example of multimedia.
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Atalanta Fugiens
Emblem 15
Let the work of the potter, consisting of dry and wet, teach you.
Epigram 15
Look how the potter forms his vessels on the swift wheel,
Whilst with his foot he mixes the clay with the water;
He always relies on two things,
So that by his dexterity the liquid quenches the thirst of the dry substances.
Act in the same way, now wiser by this example,
That the water may not dominate over the earth, but neither be dominated by it.
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