Concerning The Philosophers Stone. ( Alchemical Verse .) Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: A BBCDEEDDFFGGHHIIJJII KKKKJJKKJJKKJJKKLLJJ DDKKKKDDKKKKGGKKGGGG GGGGFFGGKMIGGJJNOJJO ODDKKIIJJIMIIDDGGJJJ JKKOOFFJJFFKKKKGGKKD DJJGGJJKKKKFFOOKKGGG GKKKKJJDDKKGGKCKKJKG GKKKKGGFFKKKJFF

A
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And also with great diligenceB
Thei fonde thilke ExperienceB
Which cleped is AlconomieC
Whereof the Silver multiplieD
Thei made and eke the Gold alsoE
And for to telle howe itt is soE
Of bodies seven in SpeciallD
With fowre Spirites joynt withallD
Stant the substance of this matereF
The bodies which I speke of hereF
Of the Plannets ben begonneG
The Gold is titled to the SonneG
The Moone of Silver hath hi partH
And Iron that stonde uppon MartH
The Leed after Saturne growethI
And Jupiter the Brasse bestowethI
The Copper sette is to VenusJ
And to his part MercuriusJ
Hath the Quicksilver as it fallethI
The which after the Boke it callethI
Is first of thilke foure namedK
Of Spirits which be proclymedK
And the Spirite which is secondeK
In Sal Armoniake is foundeK
The third Spirite Sulphur isJ
The fourth Sewende after thisJ
Arcennium by name is hotteK
With blowyng and with fires hoteK
In these things which I sayJ
Thei worchen by divers wayeJ
For as the Philosopher toldeK
Of Gold and Sylver thei ben holdeK
Two Principall extremiteesJ
To which all other by degreesJ
Of the mettals ben accordantK
And so through kinde resemblantK
That what man couth awaie takeL
The rust of which they waxen blakeL
And And the favour of the hardnesJ
Thei shulden take the likenessJ
Of Gold or Silver parfectlyD
Bot for to worche it sykerlyD
Between the Corps and the SpiriteK
Er that the Metall be parfiteK
In seven forms itt is setteK
Of all and if one be letteK
The remnant may not avayleD
But otherwise it maie nought fayleD
For thei by whome this Arte was foundeK
To every poynt a certayne boundeK
Ordeinen that a man may findeK
This Craft is wrought by wey of kindeK
So that there is no fallace inG
But what man that this werke begynG
He mote awaite at every tydeK
So that nothynge be left asydeK
Fyrst of DistillacionG
Forth with the CogelacionG
Solucion DisscencionG
And kepe in his entencionG
The poynt of SublimacionG
And forthwith CalcinacionG
Of very ApprobacionG
So that there be FixacionG
With temperate hetes of fyerF
Tyll he the perfite ElixerF
Of thilke Philosophers StoneG
Maie gette of which that many oneG
Of Philosophers whilome writeK
Of thilke Stone with other twoM
Which as the Clerkes maden thoI
So as the Bokes itt recordenG
The kinde of hem I shall recordenG
These old Philosophers wiseJ
By wey of kynde in sondry wiseJ
Thre Stones made through ClergieN
The fyrst I shall specifieO
Was cleped VegetabilisJ
Of which the proper vertue isJ
To mans heale to serveO
As for to keepe and to preserveO
The body fro sickness allD
Till death of kinde upon hym fallD
The second Stone I the behoteK
Is Lapis Animalis hoteK
The whose vertue is proper and couthI
For Eare and Eye Nose and MouthI
Whereof a man may here and seeJ
And smell and tast in his degreeJ
And for to feele and for to goeI
Itt helpeth a man of both twoM
The witts five he undersongethI
To keepe as it to hym belongethI
The third Stone in speciallD
by name is cleped MinerallD
Which the Mettalls of every myneG
Attempreth till that thei ben fyneG
And pureth hem by such a weyJ
That all the vice goth aweyJ
Of Rust of Stynke and of HardnesJ
And when they ben of such clennesJ
This minerall so as I fyndeK
Transformeth all the fyrst kyndeK
And maketh hem able to conceiveO
Through his vertue and receiveO
Both in substance and in figureF
Of Gold and Silver the natureF
For thei two ben the extremiteesJ
To which after the properteesJ
Hath every mettall his desireF
With helpe and comforte of the fyreF
Forth with this Stone as it is saidK
Which to the Sonne and Moone is laideK
For to the Red and to the WhiteK
This Stone hath power to profiteK
It maketh MultiplicacionG
Of Gold and the fixacionG
It causeth and of this babiteK
He doth the werke to be parfiteK
Of thilke Elixer which me callD
Alconomy as is befalleD
To hem that whilome were wiseJ
But now it stant all otherwiseJ
Thei speken fast of thilke StoneG
But how to make it now wote noneG
After the sooth ExperienceJ
And nathles greate diligenceJ
Thei setten up thilke dedeK
And spillen more then thei spedeK
For alwey thei fynde a letteK
Which bringeth in povertee and DetteK
To hem that rich were to foreF
The Losse is had the Lucre is loreF
To gette a pound thei spendeth fiveO
I not how such a Craft shall thriveO
In the manner as it is usedK
It were better be refusedK
Then for to worchen upon weneG
In thinge which stant not ast thei weneG
But not for thy who that it knewG
The Science of himselfe is trewG
Uppon the forme as it was foundedK
Whereof the names yett be groundedK
Of hem that first it founden outK
And thus the fame goth all aboutK
To such as soughten besinesJ
Of vertue and worthinesJ
Of whom if I the names callD
Hermes was one the first of allD
To whom this Art is most appliedK
Geber thereof was magnifiedK
And Ortolane and MorienG
Among the which is AvicenG
Which founde and wrote and greate partieK
The practicke of AlconomieC
Whose bokes plainlie as thei stondeK
Uppon this Craft few understondeK
But yet to put hem in assayJ
There be full manie now a dayK
That knowen litle that thei meneG
It is not one to wite and weneG
In forme of words thei it treteK
But yet thei failen of beyetK
For of to much or of to liteK
There is algate found a witeK
So that thei follow not the lineG
Of the perfect MedicineG
Which grounded is upon natureF
But thei that written the ScriptureF
Of Greke Arabe and CaldeeK
Thei were of such AuctoriteeK
That thei firste founden out the weyK
Of all that thou hast herd me seyJ
Whereof the Cronicke of her LoreF
Shall stonde in price for evermoreF
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John Gower



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