Atalanta Fugiens · 1618 · Emblem XIII
Aes Philosophorum hydropicum est, et vult lavari septies in fluvio, ut Naaman leprosus in Jordane.
The bronze of the Philosophers is dropsical, and wants to be washed seven times in the river, like Naaman the leper in the Jordan.
The motto borrows the story of Naaman from the Second Book of Kings. The cure is not one dramatic act but the same humble washing, repeated seven times.
What needs to be done again, patiently, rather than once?
Michael Maier, Atalanta Fugiens (Oppenheim, 1618). Engraving in the public domain. Motto transcribed from the 1618 edition; translation and reading by The Hermetic School. All the emblems.