the illustrations to be used in his forth-coming book 

 "Atalanta fugiens, or New Emblems of the Secrets of Nature." 



The three philosophers were soon in deep consultation; 

 Dr. Maier exhibited a beautifully drawn sketch of the illu- 

 minated title-page of his book. On the left side and upper 

 part appeared the Garden of the Hesperides, Hercules, clad 

 in a lion's skin and carrying a club over his shoulder, was 

 plucking the golden apples ; the two sisters Aegle and Are- 

 thusa were in friendly conversation, the third sister Hesper- 

 tusa looking on ; beneath the trees the many-headed monster 

 Ladon was vainly guarding the fruit. On the right hand 

 side and below, Venus was handing golden apples to the 

 youth Hippomenes, who appeared again below running a 

 race with the fair Atalanta, and dropping the precious fruit 

 which the damsel stooped to pick up, thereby losing the race; 

 in the corner was the sanctuary of Cybele, and near by a 

 lion and a lioness promenading, into which animals the 

 enraged goddess had transformed the guilty pair. 



Both Loew and Typotius declared the symbolic drawing 

 could not be improved and the three turned to another 

 emblem depicting "Mother Earth;" a nude woman stood 

 erect in a fertile landscape, her neck, shoulders and trunk 

 being drawn so as to represent the terrestrial globe furnished 

 with feminine paps; slie was giving suck to an infant sup- 

 ported on her right arm. Below on her right, Jupiter was 

 being suckled by a goat, on her left Romulus and Remus 

 were nursed by a wolf; in the background were castles and 

 mountain peaks; above was the legend "Nutrix ejus terra 

 est," a phrase occurring in the Emerald Tablet. Exa- 

 mination of this emblem directed the thoughts of the Rabbi 

 to the genesis of the world, and having secured the attention 

 of his guests, he lay back in his easy chair, closed his eyes 

 and discoursed as follows: 



161 



