Atalanta Fugiens · 1618 · Emblem VIII
Accipe ovum, et igneo percute gladio.
Take the egg and strike it with a fiery sword.
The egg holds the whole work in closed form. It does not open by itself; it is opened, with heat and with a cut.
What needs to be opened with care rather than left whole?
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.