Beehive in an alchemical emblem

[Adam McLean]

I found this interesting alchemical engraving in  Geheimnisse einiger Philosophen und Adepten, aus der Verlassenschaft eines alten Mannes. Leipzig, 1780,

The text below states:-

Est lapis occultus, in imo fonte sepultus, Vilis et ejectus, fimo et stercore tectus
It is a hidden stone, buried in the bottom of the fountain, base and cast out, covered with filth and dung.


   

[Paul Ferguson]

The words are from Merculinus in the Rosarium I think:
https://www.alchemywebsite.com/rosary5.html

The image is reminiscent of the Rosicrucian one in Fludd's Summum Bonum:
https://www.granger.com/results.asp?inli...=3&itemx=2

[Carl Lavoie]

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Bees, hive, honey: apt metaphors for a ceaseless labour, a place of transformation and an end product golden and/or preserving, everlasting.
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