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 diligence | B |
| Thei fonde thilke Experience | B |
| Which cleped is Alconomie | C |
| Whereof the Silver multiplie | D |
| Thei made and eke the Gold also | E |
| And for to telle howe itt is so | E |
| Of bodies seven in Speciall | D |
| With fowre Spirites joynt withall | D |
| Stant the substance of this matere | F |
| The bodies which I speke of here | F |
| Of the Plannets ben begonne | G |
| The Gold is titled to the Sonne | G |
| The Moone of Silver hath hi part | H |
| And Iron that stonde uppon Mart | H |
| The Leed after Saturne groweth | I |
| And Jupiter the Brasse bestoweth | I |
| The Copper sette is to Venus | J |
| And to his part Mercurius | J |
| Hath the Quicksilver as it falleth | I |
| The which after the Boke it calleth | I |
| Is first of thilke foure named | K |
| Of Spirits which be proclymed | K |
| And the Spirite which is seconde | K |
| In Sal Armoniake is founde | K |
| The third Spirite Sulphur is | J |
| The fourth Sewende after this | J |
| Arcennium by name is hotte | K |
| With blowyng and with fires hote | K |
| In these things which I say | J |
| Thei worchen by divers waye | J |
| For as the Philosopher tolde | K |
| Of Gold and Sylver thei ben holde | K |
| Two Principall extremitees | J |
| To which all other by degrees | J |
| Of the mettals ben accordant | K |
| And so through kinde resemblant | K |
| That what man couth awaie take | L |
| The rust of which they waxen blake | L |
| And And the favour of the hardnes | J |
| Thei shulden take the likeness | J |
| Of Gold or Silver parfectly | D |
| Bot for to worche it sykerly | D |
| Between the Corps and the Spirite | K |
| Er that the Metall be parfite | K |
| In seven forms itt is sette | K |
| Of all and if one be lette | K |
| The remnant may not avayle | D |
| But otherwise it maie nought fayle | D |
| For thei by whome this Arte was founde | K |
| To every poynt a certayne bounde | K |
| Ordeinen that a man may finde | K |
| This Craft is wrought by wey of kinde | K |
| So that there is no fallace in | G |
| But what man that this werke begyn | G |
| He mote awaite at every tyde | K |
| So that nothynge be left asyde | K |
| Fyrst of Distillacion | G |
| Forth with the Cogelacion | G |
| Solucion Disscencion | G |
| And kepe in his entencion | G |
| The poynt of Sublimacion | G |
| And forthwith Calcinacion | G |
| Of very Approbacion | G |
| So that there be Fixacion | G |
| With temperate hetes of fyer | F |
| Tyll he the perfite Elixer | F |
| Of thilke Philosophers Stone | G |
| Maie gette of which that many one | G |
| Of Philosophers whilome write | K |
| Of thilke Stone with other two | M |
| Which as the Clerkes maden tho | I |
| So as the Bokes itt recorden | G |
| The kinde of hem I shall recorden | G |
| These old Philosophers wise | J |
| By wey of kynde in sondry wise | J |
| Thre Stones made through Clergie | N |
| The fyrst I shall specifie | O |
| Was cleped Vegetabilis | J |
| Of which the proper vertue is | J |
| To mans heale to serve | O |
| As for to keepe and to preserve | O |
| The body fro sickness all | D |
| Till death of kinde upon hym fall | D |
| The second Stone I the behote | K |
| Is Lapis Animalis hote | K |
| The whose vertue is proper and couth | I |
| For Eare and Eye Nose and Mouth | I |
| Whereof a man may here and see | J |
| And smell and tast in his degree | J |
| And for to feele and for to goe | I |
| Itt helpeth a man of both two | M |
| The witts five he undersongeth | I |
| To keepe as it to hym belongeth | I |
| The third Stone in speciall | D |
| by name is cleped Minerall | D |
| Which the Mettalls of every myne | G |
| Attempreth till that thei ben fyne | G |
| And pureth hem by such a wey | J |
| That all the vice goth awey | J |
| Of Rust of Stynke and of Hardnes | J |
| And when they ben of such clennes | J |
| This minerall so as I fynde | K |
| Transformeth all the fyrst kynde | K |
| And maketh hem able to conceive | O |
| Through his vertue and receive | O |
| Both in substance and in figure | F |
| Of Gold and Silver the nature | F |
| For thei two ben the extremitees | J |
| To which after the propertees | J |
| Hath every mettall his desire | F |
| With helpe and comforte of the fyre | F |
| Forth with this Stone as it is said | K |
| Which to the Sonne and Moone is laide | K |
| For to the Red and to the White | K |
| This Stone hath power to profite | K |
| It maketh Multiplicacion | G |
| Of Gold and the fixacion | G |
| It causeth and of this babite | K |
| He doth the werke to be parfite | K |
| Of thilke Elixer which me call | D |
| Alconomy as is befalle | D |
| To hem that whilome were wise | J |
| But now it stant all otherwise | J |
| Thei speken fast of thilke Stone | G |
| But how to make it now wote none | G |
| After the sooth Experience | J |
| And nathles greate diligence | J |
| Thei setten up thilke dede | K |
| And spillen more then thei spede | K |
| For alwey thei fynde a lette | K |
| Which bringeth in povertee and Dette | K |
| To hem that rich were to fore | F |
| The Losse is had the Lucre is lore | F |
| To gette a pound thei spendeth five | O |
| I not how such a Craft shall thrive | O |
| In the manner as it is used | K |
| It were better be refused | K |
| Then for to worchen upon wene | G |
| In thinge which stant not ast thei wene | G |
| But not for thy who that it knew | G |
| The Science of himselfe is trew | G |
| Uppon the forme as it was founded | K |
| Whereof the names yett be grounded | K |
| Of hem that first it founden out | K |
| And thus the fame goth all about | K |
| To such as soughten besines | J |
| Of vertue and worthines | J |
| Of whom if I the names call | D |
| Hermes was one the first of all | D |
| To whom this Art is most applied | K |
| Geber thereof was magnified | K |
| And Ortolane and Morien | G |
| Among the which is Avicen | G |
| Which founde and wrote and greate partie | K |
| The practicke of Alconomie | C |
| Whose bokes plainlie as thei stonde | K |
| Uppon this Craft few understonde | K |
| But yet to put hem in assay | J |
| There be full manie now a day | K |
| That knowen litle that thei mene | G |
| It is not one to wite and wene | G |
| In forme of words thei it trete | K |
| But yet thei failen of beyet | K |
| For of to much or of to lite | K |
| There is algate found a wite | K |
| So that thei follow not the line | G |
| Of the perfect Medicine | G |
| Which grounded is upon nature | F |
| But thei that written the Scripture | F |
| Of Greke Arabe and Caldee | K |
| Thei were of such Auctoritee | K |
| That thei firste founden out the wey | K |
| Of all that thou hast herd me sey | J |
| Whereof the Cronicke of her Lore | F |
| Shall stonde in price for evermore | F |
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John Gower
(1)
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About Concerning The Philosophers Stone. ( Alchemical Verse .)
Concerning The Philosophers Stone. ( Alchemical Verse .) is a poem by John Gower. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.