Atalanta Fugiens · 1618 · Emblem XXXVII
Tria sufficiunt ad magisterium, fumus albus, hoc est, aqua, leo viridis, id est, aes Hermetis, et aqua foetida.
Three things are enough for the mastery: white smoke, that is, water; the green lion, that is, the bronze of Hermes; and the stinking water.
Three ingredients, one of them foul. The work does not wait for everything to be pleasant.
Which unpleasant ingredient are you refusing to include?
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.