Three Renaissance Scientific Poems

Author(s): Robert M. Schuler

Source: Studies in Philology, Vol. 75, No. 5, Texts and Studies, 1978. Three Renaissance Scientific
Poems (Winter, 1978), pp. i+iii+v+vii+1-7+9-59+61+63+65+67-101+103+105-107+109+111-147+149+
151-152
Published by: University of North Carolina Press
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 NT I
STUDIES INT' PHI OOG I

Volume LXXV DECEMBER, I978 Number 5

TextsandStudies,I978

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 RENAIlS SANCE
SCIENTIFICPOEM

EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES, BY

RobertM. Schuler

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 CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface vii
General Introduction I

I. William Blomfild, The Compendiaryof the Noble Science of

Alchemy, or Blomfild'sBlossoms,1 557 7
Introduction 9
Text 2I
Notes 42
Appendix 6I
II. Christophorus Ballista, The Overthrowof the Gout, translated
by B[arnabe] G[ooge], I S77 6S
Introduction 67
Text 75
Notes 95
Appendices I03
III. George Buchanan, De Sphaera, Book I: An Early Seven-
teenth-Century Verse Translation by I[ames] C[obbes] I09

Introduction III

Text I8
Notes I42

Appendix I49

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 PREFACE

My interest in scientific poetry began while writing a doctoral

dissertation under the inspiration and kindly supervision of Professor
John Murphy, of the University of Colorado. A fellowship for I969-70
from the University of Colorado's Office of International Education
enabled me to examine the many manuscripts in British libraries of the
alchemical poem printed here, and to complete most of the historical
research connected with that text. The latter was made easier by the
generosity of Professor William A. Murray, of Lancaster University,
who took me under his wing and shared his arcane learning. More
recent work, both at home and abroad, was supported by research
grants from the University of Victoria, a Post-Doctoral Fellowship
from the Canada Council (I 974-75), and a Leave Fellowship from the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (1978-79).
Thanks are due also to the British Library and to the Massachusetts
Historical Society for permission to publish materials in their collections.
Finally, I dedicate this little work to my mother and to the memory
of my father.
R.M. S.
The Universityof Victoria,
Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada

vii

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 General Introduction

Classicists have long recognized the Lehrgedichtor didactic

poem as a distinct literarygenre, a kind of poem that instructs
in scientific or philosophical subjects.' The term "didactic"
usually has a much broader application in English literary
criticism,however, and it has even come to be used as a synonym
for "moral." I have therefore adopted the term "scientific
poetry," by which I mean didactic poetry whose purpose is to
instruct in science or-in the Renaissance-" proto-science," or
any branch of naturalphilosophy.2 While some scholarlyeffort
has been made to delineatethe history of this genre in the Middle
Ages and eighteenth century,3the Renaissancetradition is only
now being studied. These few general comments, which are
intended to place the three Renaissancepoems presented here
in a broad historical and literarycontext, can provide only the
briefest outline.
The English Renaissance tradition of scientific poetry has
both classical and native roots. The early Greek poet Hesiod,
whose WorksandDaysteachesaboutweatherlore and agricultural
methods, is the first known didactic poet.4 Xenophanes,
Parmenides,and Empedocles all wrote verse treatiseson science
and philosophy, even in an age when scientificprose was a well-
established genre; for them verse carried an authority and
literarysignificancenot to be found in prose.5 ImportantGreek
scientificpoets from later times include Aratus of Soli (medicine
and astronomy),Nicanderof Colophon(medicine,pharmacology,
and a georgic poem that influencedVirgil), and Marcellusof Side
(medicine). While the pre-eminentRoman scientific poems are
Lucretius' De rerumnaturaand Virgil's Georgics,a host of Latin
I

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2 ScientificPoems
ThreeRenaissance
poets on medicine (Aemilius Macer, Serenus Sammonicus),
astronomy (Marcus Manilius), and agriculture(Columella) are
known through extant texts or survivingexcerptsand references.
The MiddleAges, with its verse bestiaries,lapidaries,and herbals,
continuedthe Latin traditionvigorously,6but in the Renaissance
it was the rediscovery around I417 of the astronomical and
cosmological poems of Lucretius and Manilius that stimulated
Neo-Latin scientificpoetry.7
Among the many Renaissancehumanistswho wrote this kind
of verse were Johannes Aurelius Augurellus (Chrysopoeia, on
alchemy, I 5 I 5), GirolamoFracastoro(Syphilis siveMorbus qallicus,
I 530), and the ScotsmanDavid Kinloch (De hominis procreatione,
1596). The fragmentsof Hippocrateswere put into Greek and
Latin verse, and the great medical discoveries of the day were
not only celebrated in poems, but were also transmutedinto
poetry.8 George Buchanan's De Sphaera,a Jacobean verse
translationof which is our third text, is squarely in the Neo-
classical tradition, in both subject matter and its Virgilian and
Lucretian verbal echoes. ChristophorusBallista's In podagram
concertatio,a medical poem on the cure of the gout which
B[arnabe]G[ooge] translatedinto English verse in I577 (our
second text), is perhaps less classical in style, but its scientific
information is plundered from one of the humanists' most
revered encyclopedias, the Natural History of Pliny. It also
employs copious allusions to classical mythology and history.
The English translationsof these poems are good examplesnot
only of scientific poetry in general, but also of the English
tradition in particular, since many of the English scientific
fromthe Latin
poemsbetweenI 500 and 1700 weretranslations
or French.9 Take, for example, the several English verse
translationsof the most importantmedieval medical poem, the
RegimenSanitatis Salernitanum;these versified rules for diet,
exercise,and healing were probablyset to memoryin more than
one Elizabethanor Jacobeanhousehold.
Original scientific poems in the vernacular began to be
written in the Middle Ages throughout Europe, and in England

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 GeneralIntroduction 3
at least this native traditionwas highly influentialon Renaissance
scientific poetry.10 The period before I500 produced, for in-
stance, 53 alchemicalpoems, 32 on diet, medicine, and herb-lore,
and eight on astrology. These figures are for known extant
poems only; the practicalnatureof such texts probablyaccounts
for the demise of more than one manuscript copy-in the
alchemist's fire or on the pharmacist's mixing table.", The
extreme popularity of alchemy as a subject for English poetry
accounts for the inclusion of Blomfild's Blossoms (I 557) as the first
piece in this collection. Indeed, not only does this poem exist in
manymanuscripts,but alchemyin generalalso remainedthe most
popular subjectof vernacularscientificpoets in the sixteenthand
seventeenth centuries. As did Empedocles and his fellow Greek
scientific poets, the alchemists preferredverse to prose because
the dignity of verse accorded with the venerability of their
subject. In addition, verse form made possible the use of
acrostics, anagrams, and other linguistic devices by which
certainoccult knowledge could be kept from uninitiatedreaders.
William Blomfild, the author of the alchemical poem included
here, conceals his name in an acrostic no less than four times in
his poem. In this practice,as well as in his style and treatmentof
subject, Blomfild follows his medieval antecedentsand forms a
continuous traditionwith them.
As in the Middle Ages, medicine is the Renaissance'ssecond
most cultivated subject with vernacularscientific poets, but the
most popular single scientificpoem published in this period was
certainlyThomas Tusser's A Hundrethqood Pointsof Husbandrie
(I 557). This versifiedfarmer'smanualwas not only expandedto
FiveHundredGoodPointswithin a few yearsof its firstpublication,
but it also went through at least sixteen editions by i 6oo and
continued to be updated and reprintedwell into the nineteenth
century.'2 Like Blomfild's alchemicalpoem, Tusser's is a direct
descendantof late medieval didactic poetry, but it is interesting
to compareit with the pieces in Tottel's Miscellany, another best-
seller of the sixteenth century which was first published in the
sameyear. C. S. Lewis is obliged to say that even though Tusser's

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4 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
poetry is "applied" (as opposed to "pure"), it is more than mere
mnemonic jingles: "The truth is that, after Wyatt, Tusser is the
most readableof all Drab Age versifiers."'3While Tusser might
have been pleased with this measuredcompliment, he knew he
was not writing a georgic, and he even warnedhis readerthat his
"rough anapests"of practicalinstructionwere no "Fine verses
thy fancie to please."
The case is somewhat differentwith many writers of English
scientificpoetry after i6oo. For while doggerel verse is still to
be found among them, manybenefittedfrom the generalimprove-
ments that had taken place in English versification. During the
second half of the seventeenth century, moreover, the major
classical didactic poets received careful editions and verse
translations,as well as learned commentarieson their scientific
content and relevanceto contemporaryscientifictheories. Once
again, Lucretius and Manilius, whose poems had sparkedNeo-
Latin didactic poetry some 2 50 years before, exerted their
influence on later scientific poets.I4 As the century progressed
and science itself struggled for definition, some poets left
pragmaticinstructionfor philosophicaland theological specula-
tion on the nature and implications of the new science. The
"physico-theological" poems of the eighteenth century have
their origins here. Nevertheless, traditional subjects continue
to be treated,and the georgic, for example, is one of the most
widely cultivatedforms, before and after I700.I5
The three Renaissancepoems presentedhere, then, are prod-
ucts of coherentliteraryand scientific traditions. Because each
text has peculiaritiesof subject and treatment,however, I have
provided separate introductions which identify the specific
contexts from which they emerge. Similarly,as each poem has
a differenttextual history, I have approachedeach as a distinct
editorial problem. Finally, explanatorynotes accompany each
text, the alchemical poem receiving fuller annotation because
of the difficultyof the subject. It is hoped that these provisions
will equip the readerfor what is likely to be his first excursion
into untraveledterritory.

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 GeneralIntroduction
Notes
IFor a recent recapitulationof earlierstudies, see Alister Cox, "Didactic Poetry,"
in GreekandLatinLiterature:A Comparative Study,ed. John Higginbotham (London,
I969), pp. I24-6I.
2For a list of subjects and a preliminary survey, see my "English Scientific
Poetry I 500-I700: Prolegomena and Preliminary Check List," PBSA, LXIX
(I975), 482-502; this check list is expanded in my EnglishMagicalandScientificPoems
to I70o: An AnnotatedBibliography(forthcoming, Garland Publishers). Students
of the French tradition of didactic poetry also use the term "scientific poetry":
Albert Marie Schmidt, La PoesieScientifique enFranceau SeiziimeSiecle(Paris, I938);
and Dudley Wilson, ed., FrenchRenaissance ScientificPoetry(London, I974).
3 The Index of MiddleEnglish Verseand its Supplement allow identification of ME
scientific poems, and Rossell Hope Robbins has pursued some of these: " Alchemical
Texts in Middle English Verse: Corrigenda and Addenda," Ambix, XIII (June
I966), 62-73; and "Medical Manuscripts in Middle English," Speculum,XLV
(July 1970), 393-4I5. An excellent study of the eighteenth-century tradition is
William Powell Jones, TheRhetoricof Science(Berkeley and Los Angeles, I966); see
also note 25 below.
4 In the Renaissance George Chapman translated not only Homer but Hesiod
as well.
5 Cox, "Didactic Poetry," pp. 33I-2.
6 Some scattered references are to be found in F. J. E. Raby, A Historyof Secular
Latin Poetryin theMiddleAges, 2 vols., 2nd ed. (Oxford, I957), but the most useful
sources are specialized ones like Dorothea Waley Singer's Catalogueof Latin and
VernacularAlchemicalManuscripts... beforethe XVI Century(Brussels, I930) (Vol.
II, Si i-85, lists Latin alchemical poems); and Brian Stock, Myth and Sciencein the
TwelfthCentury:A Studyof BernardSilvester(Princeton, I972).
7 For a brief account of Renaissance Neo-Latin didactic poetry and its classical
antecedents, see James R. Naiden, TheSpheraof GeorgeBuchanan (Philadelphia, 195 z),
Ch. a; the full study of the genre promised by Naiden has never appeared. An
earlier survey is that of Paul Van Tieghem, La LittiratureLatine de la Renaissance
(i944; rpt. Geneva, I966), Ch. VII, "La Poesie Didactique."
8 For example, Robert Grove's Carmende sanguiniscircuita,a GuilielmoHarveo
primuminvento(i685), which contained among other things a graphic account of
the vivisection of a dog. For Grove, Kinloch, and a few other British Neo-Latin
scientific poets, see Leicester Bradner, MusaeAnglicanae:A Historyof Anglo-Latin
PoetryIJOO-592J (New York, I940), passim.
9 Translation was important for the transmission of all kinds of knowledge in the
Renaissance; for examples of translated scientific poems, see my forthcoming
Bibliography, items 57, 252, 263, 273, 226, 273, 42I, 438, 477 ff., 486, 568, etc.
10 There were a few attempts in English to imitate classical didactic poems, but
these are rare until the seventeenth century; the earliest English Virgilian georgic,
for example, is said to be Thomas Moufat's TheSilkewormes andTheirFlies (I 599).
"I Some of these poems survive in many copies, however; Robbins and John L.
Cutler, Supplementto the Index of MiddleEnglish Verse (Lexington, I965), p. 52I,

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6 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
indicate, e.g., that Lydgate's Dietaryexists in 55 MSS, exceeded only by ThePrick
of Conscience (I 17 MSS) and TheCanterbury Tales(64 MSS).
I2 See Michael Paffard, "A Sixteenth-Century Farmer's Year," History Today,
XX (June I970), 397-403. Several modern editions and reprints of Tusser are
available.
I3 EnglishLiteraturein the SixteentbCentury (Oxford, I954), p. 262.
I4 See, e.g., the translations and edition by Sir Edward Sherburne of Manilius

(I675), in my "English ScientificPoetry I500-1700," pp.489,496. Lucretiuswas of

particularinterest in the later seventeenth century because of the revival of Epi-
curean atomism by Descartes and others.
I5 On "physico-theological" poetry, see Jones, Rhetoric of Science,Chs. I-4. The
georgic is the one kind of scientific poem that has always been recognized as a
distinct genre; see these studies, which concentrate on the eighteenth-century
georgic: Marie Loretto Lilly, TheGeorgic:A Contribution to theStudyof the Vergilian
Typeof DidacticPoetry(Baltimore, I919); Dwight L. Durling, GeorgicTraditionin
EnglishPoetry(New York, I935). For evidence of the longevity of the scientific
poem, one should see the botanical poems of Erasmus Darwin and, in our century,
the highly accurate and delightful poems by an eminent marine biologist, Walter
Garstang, Larval Formsand OtherZoologicalVerses,ed. Sir Alister Hardy (Oxford,
I95I)-

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 The Compendiary of the Nobl
Science of Alchemy, or
Blomfild's Blossoms
by WilliamBlomfild

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 INTRODUCTION

Born at Bury St. Edmunds probably in the first decade of the six-
teenth century, William Blomfild became a monk at the Benedictine
monastery at Bury.' According to Foxe's Acts and Monuments,he was
brought before the Bishop of London in 1529 to recant Reformation
vie;ws on the Pope, images, and the sacraments. He duly abjured his
heresy, but Blomfild seems always to have found religious orthodoxy
difficult. After the Reformation he became an Anglican priest, but his
deepest spiritual affiliation was with Calvinism, a fact that impinges
directly on his view of alchemy. His middle years are largely un-
documented, but we know that in I 547 he was arraigned for the capital
offence of conjuring; a circumstantial account of his attempt to "make
A Cyrcle" and to "have oon that shall come & carry [him] Awaye"
survives. Blomfild apparently got off the charge; at any rate, by 1569
(by which time he had completed his alchemical poem) he was of
sufficient respectability to be appointed pastor of the parish church
of Saints Simon and Jude in Norwich by Bishop John Parkhurst, a
former Marian exile with Puritan leanings.2 Within a year, however,
Blomfild's parishioners had expelled him, as a result of his employment
of "exercises " or "prophesyings," a Puritan method of "inner light"
preaching which the Queen herself ordered stopped in I 74.
In about this latter year, when he was nearing the end of his life,
Blomfild wrote a prose medical-alchemical tract and inscribed it to
Elizabeth.3 Although it probably never reached the Queen, the docu-
ment is important because in it Blomfild makes clear his identification
of himself as both an adept in alchemy and a member of God's elect.
On the one hand, he defends his " godly exercises " and claims devotion
to "mayntayning trew religion" against the "crewel papistes of [his]
late parish," and on the other he claims a "secret knowledge of
lernyng" (of alchemy), which is received "not at mannes hand, but
only of god." Neither of these convictions is unique: many religionists
are certain of their rectitude, and most alchemists believed themselves
9

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 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
adepts under a divine dispensation. What is significant here is the
way in which Blomfild combines explicitly Puritan belief with his
alchemical knowledge. This association of ideas occurs also in his
poem (stanza 9, 26).4
The Compendiaryof the Noble Scienceof Alchemy, or, as it was more
commonly known, "Blomfild's Blossoms," was composed in I557.5
The poem survives in so many manuscripts that it is almost certainly
the most frequently copied English alchemical poem from the sixteenth
century. Even after it was first published in Elias Ashmole's Theatrum
ChemicumBritannicum(i652), a large anthology of English alchemical
poetry, it continued to be copied by alchemists, and no less a figure than
Sir Isaac Newton made copious extracts for his own use.6

In its most complete form, " Blomfild's Blossoms " consists of eighty-
four stanzas of rhyme royal and a "Conclusion" of nine couplets. The
body of the poem is clearly divided into discrete sections, as the
following analysis shows:
(I) Stanzas 1-4, Introduction. These stanzas provide the narrative
envelope for the dream vision which constitutes the first major section
of the poem. In March of I 557, Father Tyme comes to Blomfild in a
dream and bids him go with him to the Campe of Philosophy, the
wonders of which Tyme describes. The only disruption of the narrative
framework set up here is the "dream within a dream," or the vision
which Father Tyme causes Blomfild to see (stanzas 5-io). The larger
dream-vision framework ends after stanza 4I.
(2) Stanzas 5-4I, the "Dream" and the journey to Lady Philosophy.
The heading, "The Dreame of Mr Blomefeild," appears in a few
manuscripts before stanza 5, and it seems to refer specifically to the
heavenly vision of stanzas 5-IO, which begins, "In spiritu rapt I was,
soodenly into heauen." Blomfild sees the Holy Trinity and intuitively
understands the corresponding threefold nature of the Philosopher's
Stone "To be three in substance & one in essence" and the quint-
essence to be analogous to the "invisible godheade" itself. The main
intention of this vision is to establish the exclusivity of alchemical
knowledge ("god maketh it [the quintessence] sencible / To some
preelect; to other doth it denay"), and to align it with spiritual
knowledge. The vision ends as abruptly as it had begun.
Thus prepared for his journey to the Campe of Lady Philosophy,
Blomfild is set before the gate, and Tyme furnishes him with the key to

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy II

unlock it. This section (stanzas I I-4I) is the longest in the poem, and it
resembles many of the allegorical quests of medieval literature, such as
the Court of Sapience(printed by de Worde in I 5IO),where Lady Philos-
ophy also appears. In our poem, however, "philosophy" means "alche-
my." On his way to true alchemy, then, Blomfild first encounters a group
of the true adepts who advise him to be guided by Tyme. Proceeding
on their way, they meet a group of false, "disguised philosophers,"
historical figures from Blomfild's own time, "Royall Philosophers the
cleane contrary way," because they spend their time deceiving the King
and "Rosting & broileinge all things out of kinde."
Having left the winding paths trod by these " Foolosophers," the pair
pass through a "greene Wood" and finally reach a "feild, pleasant,
large, & wide," the Campe of Philosophy, a place of great harmony and
beauty; they are duly greeted by Lady Philosophy herself, who invites
Blomfild "A disciple to be of my secretes all." Lady Philosophy then
turns him over to a famous master of alchemy, Ramond Lully, who is
to initiate Blomfild into the secrets of the art. The instruction by Lully
(stanzas 32-4i) anticipates the theoretical matters which are taken up
later (stanzas 5i-68). Before he can leave the dreamer alone to study
the "Old Ancient writers," Lully must first teach him "truly to know
the Planets seaven," the subject of the next section.
(3) Stanzas 42-50, "The seconde parte of the Booke." The division
between the "Dream" and this section seems unnecessary, except that it
marks off this brief discussion of the seven planets and their correspond-
ing metals. Especially important is the astrological influence on the
metals in determining their occult properties; the order followed here is
that of the Ptolemaic system, beginning with the outermost planet,
Saturn.
(4) Stanzas Si-68, "Theorica." This section is distinctly set off in the
manuscripts usually with the rubric, "Incipit Theorica." The first
words of the beginning stanza are, "We intend now through grace
divine / In few words of Chaos to write. . .," and there is no effort to
restore the narrative framework of the preceding sections. Blomfild
himself is the speaker here, and Ramond Lully is referred to in the
third person (e.g., 1. 462). The "Theorica" as a whole presents the
Lullian theory of the composition of metals (see below), and it uses
terminology and allegory peculiar to the Lullian tradition. In fact, the
reiteration of these terms and symbols (e.g., the Philosopher's Tree
with fifteen fruits, the basilisk) helps draw together the various parts of

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I2 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
the poem. The key term in the " Theorica" is the philosopher's
Chaos, the "prime matter" from which all metals, including gold,
can be made.
(5) Stanzas 69-84, "Practica." This section also has a distinct rubric
in most of the manuscripts. It begins with an exhortation for the
alchemist to be "sober, honest, and meeke," and in general to love his
neighbor and devoutly to serve God. Still using allegory and metaphor
(the "red Man" and "white Woman" are joined in the proportion of
one to three), the poet explains how the materials are to be prepared,
distilled, and carefully heated for forty days, passing through a specific
series of operations and color changes. Finally, when the Philosopher's
Stone is produced, one part of it is to be projected upon one hundred
parts of "crude Mercury," whereupon it will be turned ""tofine Gold, /
As fine & as good, as naturall [gold] in ponderation." The poem
proper ends in a "Hosonna" "'to the blessed Trinity / For the benefit
of this pretious Stone."
(6) "'Conclusion." A separate poem of eighteen lines which appears
in half of the sixteen manuscripts, the "Conclusion'" is a recapitulation
of the entire alchemical work. It invokes the Holy Trinity and proclaims
that in "Threescore dayes long or neere thereabouts" "shall Phoebus
[the Philosopher's Stone] appeare first out." See the textual intro-
duction for the doubtful authority of this part of the poem.

The Alchemy of "'Blomfild's Blossoms"

While Blomfild seems to have attached a specific religious significance

to his practice of alchemy, his ideas concerning the nature and trans-
mutability of matter are for the most part conventional. The many
verbal echoes of George Ripley's Com.poundof Alcbymie show that
Blomfild was indebted to that poet-alchemist, and his account of
alchemical theory and practice accords as well with that of Thomas
Norton's Ordinal of Alchemy.7 The alchemical theory on which most
late medieval writers relied had developed for well over a thousand
years, but it had been codified and systematized anew in the works
attributed to Ramon Lull, or "Ramond Lully," as Blomfild calls him.8
The chief Lullian treatise, and one which Blomfild probably knew,
is the TestamentumMliajus, which has been called perhaps the most
important alchemical work of the Middle Ages.9 The Testamentumis

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 TheNoble Scienceof Achemy I3

divided into three parts: the Theorica, the Practica, and the Codicil.Io
"Blomfild's Blossoms" also contains a "Theorica," "Practica," and
(in many copies) a "Conclusion," and at line 483 Blomfild refers to his
poem as his "testament and last will"; furthermore, Blomfild's mentor
in the Campe of Philosophy is Ramond Lully himself.
Nevertheless, by the sixteenth century the metaphor of the alchemist's
legacy was a commonplace, and Blomfild could have found the al-
chemical ideas which he expounds in the poem in a variety of contem-
porary Latin and vernacular sources. The alchemy of the poem rests on
three central concepts, sometimes complementary and sometimes
inconsistent, but all common to later medieval alchemy: the alchemist's
"chaos" or prime matter, the sulphur-mercury theory of matter, and
the doctrine of the quintessence. The philosopher's chaos is intro-
duced at line 88 as the "first lock" to the gate barring entrance to the
Campe of Philosophy; working on " Chaos Darke " is the chief
occupation of the true alchemists just inside the Campe, and the term is
mentioned several other times (11.275, 28I, 353) before its full exposi-
tion begins at stanza 54. While our author does echo Ripley (who
identifies this chaos with the prime matter which God first created
from nothing and from which He then made all things, "As Genesys
apertly doth recorde"),"I Blomfild's account of the chaos is more
comprehensive than most. It was certainly of great interest to
later Renaissance alchemists, because most of those who made excerpts
from the poem chose passages dealing with the chaos.I2 At any rate,
the alchemist's concern is to "reduce" the matter of base metals to its
primordial state by stripping off its outward qualities; then, imitating
the Creator, he imposes on this prime matter or chaos the qualities of
any other metal, including gold:
Materia primait is calledmultiplicable,
The whichby art mustbe exuberate[renderedfruitfull]:
Then is it the matterthat mettalswere of generate. (11.439-41)
A related idea is the sulphur-mercury theory of metals, which appears
most prominently in the "Practica" of the poem. This theory derives
ultimately from Aristotle's view that metals are generated from two
vapors, one moist and one dry. Congealing within the earth, these
vapors combine in different proportions to form different metals, each
with specific properties. Thus a preponderance of the moist vapor
made a metal fusible and ductile, while more of the dry vapor made a
metal volatile.I3 As elaborated by the influential Arabic alchemist,

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I4 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Jabir ibn Hayyan (Latinized as Geber, as in 1. I09), the two vapors
became a special "mercury" (embodying the qualities of cold and
moist) and "sulphur" (having the qualities of hot and dry). This
"philosophical" or "sophic" mercury and sulphur were not therefore
the common substances that go under those names (see 11. 442, 446,
etc.), but principles of matter that could be extracted from the chaos
and then used to make any metal. The role of the "elixir" or "Philo-
sopher's Stone" was to purify imperfect combinations of these sub-
stances, but the Stone itself could be made from the most rarefied
"sophic" sulphur and mercury. This latter process is described in
Blomfild's "Practica," where the "marriage" of the "'red man" and
"white woman" (11. 5I2 ff.) represents the "conjunction" of mercury
and sulphur, the "red" and "white" stone, the masculine and feminine
elements, to produce the Philosopher's Stone.14
A third important concept in Blomfild's alchemy is that of the
quintessence, a chief doctrine in the Lullian tradition. The alchemical
conception of the quintessence almost certainly developed from the
Stoic idea of pneuma,the "living breath" which confers the powers and
characteristics of life upon inert matter. This subtle spirit or spark of
"Divine Fire" was diffused throughout the world, but its ethereal
nature distinguished it from the rest of matter, and it became a "ffth
being," a quinta essentia, as opposed to the four elements of earth,
water, air, and fire. The Hellenistic Greek alchemists combined the
concept of pneuma with astrology and the theory of sympathies to
form a comprehensive explanation of natural change. The sun, moon,
and planets were believed to work upon matter through this quickening
spirit or seed-equally in metals and minerals as in plants or animals-
and thus bring them to "ripeness," in the form of fruit or a matured
embryo in plants and animals, and in the form of gold-the naturally
perfect state of all minerals-in metals. Each metal was thought to
have a sympathetic planet which acted as a kind of medium for the
transmission of the efficacious pneuenma, and the identification of gold
with the sun, silver with the moon, and so on, became a commonplace
in alchemical literature.15These ideas were refined upon by the medieval
alchemists, and the quintessence came to be identified also with the
"suchness" of a particular metal; alchemy was thus the process of
extracting this fifth element and multiplying it.
The connection between quintessence and the chaos can be seen in
this generalized account of the alchemical process: starting from a given

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy I5
base metal, or mixtureof such metals,the alchemistfirsthad to remove
specific "qualities" by the action of heat. The black, molten residue
was seen as the formlessprimamateriabecause of its apparentlack of
qualities. The material had been "killed" (hence the term "putri-
faction" at 1. 55o), but there remained within it a dormant"seed" or
quintessence which, with the benefit of astrological influence and
proper physical treatment,could develop. As the "seed" grew, new
"qualities" were acquired,and these were visible as a distinct series of
color changes (e.g., 11. 559 ff.). In this process the action of the
quintessencewas aided, as in the animaland vegetable worlds, by the
presence of warmthand moisture(hence the growing product is called
an "infant," 1. 55 ). After a suitable period, in Blomfild's account
forty days, the Philosopher's Stone is "born." It can then be "pro-
jected" upon base metals (here, "crude mercury") and they will be
transmutedinto gold.'6
Even though an understandingof these basicconceptsandprocedures
can make "Blomfild's Blossoms" generallycomprehensible,one must
remember that alchemists traditionally hid their secrets from the
vulgar behind a veil of allegoryand symbolismthat could be penetrated
only by the initiated adept. The explanatorynotes attempt to make
the details of Blomfild's specific exposition as clear as possible, but
perhapscomplete comprehensionis to be despairedof.'7

Text and EditorialProcedure

TheComtpendiagy of Alchemy,in more or less completeform,is knownto

survive in sixteen manuscriptsas well as in Ashmole's printedversion,
and excerptsfrom the poem are preservedin nearlya dozen additional
manuscripts.i8 The poem was clearly popular among alchemists and
other men of science,andit is certainthat the survivingcopies represent
only a portion of those that were once in existence. Because the text
was copied so many times, and because convergent variationis exten-
sive, a complete explanationof the choice of copy-text is impossible
here;I9but we might mention that collation of the seventeen complete
texts reveals the following conclusions: (i) two manuscripts,British
Library Sloane 2036 (S4) and MassachusettsHistorical Society Win-
throp zo.C (M), are clearly genetic in relationship; (2) these two
manuscripts contain the most direct and complete attestation of

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I6 ThreeRenaissance
ScientificPoems
authorship, as well as the most complete introductory material, titles,
and appended material-all of which can be seen to have undergone
erosion in other copies; (3) these manuscripts share a greater number
of obviously correct readings and show a corresponding lack of
eccentric and obviously erroneous readings. While these two copies
are virtually identical, S4 has been selected as the copy-text largely for
convenience: it is in better physical condition than M and therefore has
fewer illegibilities, and the orthography is more consistent.
Neither of these manuscripts contains the "Conclusion," an eighteen-
line poem that is found in eight of the seventeen extant copies, in-
cluding Ashmole's editioprinceps.The authority of this poem is doubtful
for the following reasons: (i) it appears in less than half the extant
copies; (2) it never bears the direct attestation of Blomfild's author-
ship, as does every other separate part of the poem; (3) where it does
appear, it occurs in several different positions in relation to the other
sections of the poem; (4) a number of similar poems, also called
"conclusions," are also extant, and these appear to be distinct works;20
(S) the "Conclusion" itself is not an apt conclusion to Blomfild's poem
because it is superfluous and even contradictory (as to the number of
days required for the creation of the Philosopher's Stone: sixty days as
opposed to forty in the "Blossoms" proper). The version appended
here, for the sake of illustration, is that of Ashmole's edition.
In transcribing S4, I have adopted the following practices. Initial
letters are treated as capitals. Capitals within the lines are preserved,
and proper names are given as they appear in the manuscript. Other
idiosyncrasies of spelling are preserved, except in a few instances where
original orthography is ambiguous or confusing for the modern
reader; in these cases, a less confusing reading is adopted from another
manuscript, whenever possible from M. (The most notable example is
the spelling of quintessence, an important word, which appears as quite
essencein S4; this has been regularized throughout.) All scribal abbrevia-
tions are expanded without notice.
Every substitution or addition which does not appear in either S4 or
M is enclosed in square brackets, and an explanation given in the
textual notes. Readings from M are freely used to supplement those
of S4, to correct obvious minor errors or to simplify spelling; this is
done without comment. Punctuation is editorial. For convenience,
stanzas have been numbered, a practice found in some of the manu-
scripts.

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 The Noble Scienceof Alhemy I7
As a full list of variant readings would require much space and
reveal little of importance about the poem, textual notes have been
limited to (i) those which explain emendations and (2) those which
recordvariantswhich aredeemedsignificantto the meaningof a passage
or which appearin a large number of the manuscriptsand therefore
warrantattention. Minor variantsare neither noted nor discussed.
The text presented here, then, is a composite one, based on the
editor'sjudgmentof the availableinformation. Every attempthas been
made to find authoritativereadings and to record significantvariants,
but the chief aim has been to make the original text as accessible as
possible with a minimum of apparatus.

Sigla
AI Bodleian LibraryMS Ashmole I418
Az Bodleian LibraryMS Ashmole I445
A3 Bodleian LibraryMS Ashmole I487
A4 Bodleian LibraryMS Ashmole 1490
H British LibraryMS Harley 6453
L Libraryof the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn MS Hale go
M MassachusettsHistorical Society MS Winthrop 20.C
P Library of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh MS
AB4.i8
R Bodleian LibraryMS Rawlinson D. I217
Si British LibraryMS Sloane 320
Sz British LibraryMS Sloane 1744
S3 British LibraryMS Sloane 175I
S4 British LibraryMS Sloane 2036
SS British LibraryMS Sloane 2532
S6 British LibraryMS Sloane 3706
T Theatrum Britannicum,
Chemicum I652
W The Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine MS 5I9.

Notes
IThis brief account is drawn from my "William Blomfild, Elizabethan Al-
chemist," Ambix, XX (July 1973), 75-87, which contains fuller details and further
accounts of the documents mentioned here.

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 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
2 Norfolk and Norwich Records Office MS REG I 3, Book I9, f. I 5 I shows that
Parkhurst, who was doing what he could to incorporate Puritan sympathizersinto
the Anglican hierarchy,made the appointmentpersonally.Blomfild also had dealings
with Henry VIII's Chief Secretaryof State, Sir William Paget, and the magus and
scientist, Dr. John Dee, who owned a MS copy of Blomfild's poem. Blomfild's
bitter attack on some other notable contemporaries-especially those employed in
the Mint (see stanzas I9, 20)-suggests that he may have known them well enough
to be envious of their success.
3 The treatise is "Blomefyld's Quintaessens, or the Regiment of Lyfe," preserved
in Cambridge Univ. Library MS Dd.iii.83. Donald C. Baker and John Murphy
have recently shown that this text is probably in Blomfild's own hand, rather than
in that of his namesake, Myles Blomefylde, as I had suggested (Ambix article, p. 76);
see their "The Books of Myles Blomefylde," The Library, 5th ser., XXXI (Dec.
1976), 377-85, which also corrects a few other minor errors of mine.
4Blomfild is an early example of those radical Puritans who made explicit
identification of adeptuswith electus.For recent scholarship on seventeenth-century
Puritans who made this connection, and for some previously unknown texts
which make this clear, see my "Some Spiritual Alchemies of Seventeenth-Century
England," JHI, forthcoming.
5 Thomas Warton claimed to have seen a copy of the poem dated I 530, but all
known MSS contain the later date at line 30. See my "An Alchemical Poem:
Authorship and Manuscripts," The Library, 5th ser., XXVIII (Sept. 1973), 240-3.
Throughout, I have adopted the spelling of Blomfild's name which he himself used
in the acrostic which occurs no less than four times in his poem; cf. the initial letters
of the following lines: i-i 6; 35I-65; 477-5 o6. It will be noted that the acrostics are
identical and that they appear at the beginning of each major section of the poem.
6 For the Newton MSS, see ibid.,p. 242. For Blomfild's other alchemicalwritings,
including a prose treatise dedicated to Henry VIII, see my Ambix article, p. 86.
Blomfild was still being cited as a master-adept by nineteenth-century occultists;
see Mary Ann Atwood, A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery (i850; rpt.
Belfast, I9I8), pp. 47, 94.
7 Both these long alchemicalpoems from the later fifteenth century were published
in Ashmole's TheatrumChemicumBritannicum(I65 2), of which a convenient facsimile
reprint is available (New York, I967); The Ordinal(3I02 lines) is one of the few
ME alchemicalpoems to have received scholarly attention (ed. John Reidy [London,
1975], EETS, No. 272).
8 The historical Ramon Lull (d. I325) was a Majorcan scholar, theologian, and
mystic, who invented a mechanical system of logic whereby theological arguments
could be proven. He believed his system could be used to convert the Moslems,
but the elaborate treatises and diagramswhich accompanied them were never given
official sanction. The alchemicalworks attributedto him employ some of the same
diagrams and methods, but they are the work of later disciples. See E. Allison
Peers, RamonLull: A Biography(London, 2929); for two important recent studies,
see the notes to 1. 404 of the poem.
The brief sketch of alchemical ideas given here can be supplemented by the
excellent survey which Reidy provides for his edition of Norton, pp. lii-Lxv. I am

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy I9

of course indebted to the standard authorities cited here and in the notes to the
poem.
9 F. Sherwood Taylor, The Alchemists(London, 195I), p. iiI; for the Lullian
system generally, see Ch. 9 and Lynn Thorndike, A Historyof MagicandExperimental
Science(New York, I923-4I), IV, I-64.
'OD. W. Singer, "The Alchemical Testament Attributed to Raymund Lull,"
IX (I928), 47-9.
Archeion,
"I Compound,in Ashmole's Theatrum,p. I22.
"2E.g., Bodleian MSS Ashmole 1485, Ashmole 1494, Rawl. D. I046; King's
College Cambridge MS Keynes I5 and the various IndicesChymicicompiled by
Newton, also in the Keynes collection.
'3 Meteorologica,378a-b.
"4 John Read, Preludeto Chemistry:An Outlineof Alchemy, 2nd ed. (i939; rpt.
Cambridge, Mass., I966), pp. 24 ff.; E. J. Holmyard, Alchemy(Harmondsworth,
1957), pp. 74-5; Reidy, pp. lix-lx. See also the commentary on lines 5I2 ff.
's On the planet-metal correspondence see J. R. Partington, "The Origins of
the Planetary Symbols for Metals," Ambix, I (May 1937), 6I-4; for a full exposition
of Stoic scientific ideas, see S. Sambursky, Physicsof the Stoics (London, I959);
Stephen Toulmin and June Goodfield, The Architectureof Matter (1962; rpt.
Harmondsworth, I965), pp. I02-I7; and H. J. Sheppard, "Gnosticism and
Alchemy," Ambix, VI (Dec. I957), 89-go.
I6 For an account of essentially the same process in Hellenistic times, see Sheppard,

pp. 90-I. The color changes in Blomfild are also strikingly like those found in
Greek alchemy; see Arthur John Hopkins, Alchemy,Childof GreekPhilosophy(I933;
rpt. New York, I967), pp. 45-50, 6I-9, 7I-6, 203-4. For the history of the
quintessence throughout the Middle Ages, see Taylor, pp. II 7-2 I.
'7 In the commentary I have tried to cite sources and studies which are in English

and readily available. Readers interested in the subject should consult present and
past issues of Ambix for studies and bibliographies, as well as Cauda Pavonis, the
Alchemy and Literature Newsletter, which grew out of the MLA Alchemy and
Literature Seminar (Department of English, New Mexico State University, Las
Cruces, NM 88003).
Finally, some attempt has been made in the commentary to illuminate how
seventeenth-century " Hermetique Philosophers" would have read the poem. Elias
Ashmole, the poem's first editor, certainly viewed it in a way differentfrom that of
most of Blomfild's contemporaries,since Ashmole and other syncretizing Hermetists
of the seventeenth century tended to see a variety of occult traditions-the prisci
theologi,Rosicrucianism, the Cabala,etc.-as consistent with a religious philosophy
probably not even known to Blomfild. It is true, however, that Blomfild's con-
temporary, John Dee, may have studied the CorpusHermeticum and the Cabala, key
elements in Ashmole's system; see Peter J. French, John Dee: The Worldof an
EliZabethanMagus (London, 1972), esp. Ch. 4. Nevertheless, the attribution of
radicallynew meanings to essentially traditional writings-a process undergone by
the CorpusHermeticum itself, as Frances Yates has shown-remains one of the most
fascinating aspects of the history of alchemy. For some specific religious interpreta-
tions of traditional alchemy, see my "Some Spiritual Alchemies of Seventeenth-
Century England."

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20 ScientificPoems
ThreeRenaissance
18For a discussion and census, see my "An Alchemical Poem: Authorship and
Manuscripts" and the Sigla, below.
19 See my unpublished dissertation, upon which this edition is based: "Hermetic
and Alchemical Traditions of the English Renaissance and Seventeenth Century,
with an Essay on their Relation to Alchemical Poetry, as Illustrated by an Edition
of Blomfild'sBlossoms,I557," (Univ. of Colorado, I971), pp. 352-4II.
20 See, e.g., those collected in Ashmole, Theatrum, pp. 428, 431, 433.

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 The compendiary of the noble science of
alchemy compiled by Mr Willm Blomefeild
philosopher & bacheler of phisick admitted
by king Henry the 8th of most famous memory.
AnnoDominiiyt7
[i] When Phebus was entered the signe of the ramm,
In the month of marchwhen all Doth springe,
Lying in my bed, an old man to me came.
Laying his hand on my buysy head slumbringe,
"I am," he said, "Tyme, producerof cunninge. S
Awake & rise, preparethy selfe quickly;
My entent is to bring thee to [the Campeof] philosophy.
[2] "Bloomes & blossomes plentifull in that feild
Bynn pleasantlyflourishinge,vernant with collers gay.
Liuely water fountaines, eke beastes both tame
& wild IO
Ouershadowedwith trees fruitfull, & on euery spray
Melodiously singinge, the birdes doe sitt & say:
'Father,sonn, & holy ghoste, to one god [in] persons
three;
Impery & honor be to the holy trinitye.'"

[3] Lo! thus when he had said, I arose swiftly, I5

Doeing on my clothes in haste with agility.
Towardes the camp, wee went, of philosophi,
The wonderfull sightes there for to see.
To a large greate gate, father tyme first brought me,
Which dosed was; then he to me saide, 20
"Each thing his time hath; be thou nothing Dismaied."
S- cunninge] all thinge A3, Si, T
7. the Campe of] In all MSS excep S4. M omit; A2, H the knowledge of; S6 the
arte of
13. in] In all MSS except A2, H, L, M, R, P, S4,56: and
2I

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22 ThreeRenaissance ScientificPoems
[4] Then great admiracionI tooke into my selue,
With sore & huge perturbacionsof minde,
Beholdinge the gate fastned with lockes twelue.
I fantasiedbut smalle that time should be my freind. 25
"Why studiest thou, man," quoth he; "art thou blind?"
With a rodd he touched me, whereatI Did Downe fall
Into a straungesleepe, & In a Dreame he showed me all.

TheDreameof Mr Blomefeild

[5] Auditesomnium meumquodvidi.

The Mt yeere of Christ,D L & seuen, 30
In the month of march,asleep as I did lye,
Late in the night, of the clocke about eleuen,
In spiriturapt I was, soodenly into heauen;
Where I saw sittinge in most glorious maiesty
Three beholding, I adored but one in deitye: 35

[6] A Spiritincircumscriptwith burninge heate

incombustible;
Light of brightnespermanent,as fountaine of all light;
Three knit in one, with glory incomprehensible,
Which to behold I had a greate Delighte.
This trulye [to attayne]surmountedmy might; 40
But a voice from that glorious brightnesto me saide,
"I am one god of Immeasurablemaiesty: [be not afraide]."

[7] In this vision so cleare, that it selfe did so extend

With a voice most pleasant,being three & one,
Pearsedmy minde, & taught me to comprehende 45
The darke sayinges of philosopherseach one:
The altitude, latitude, & profundityof the stone
To be three in substance & one in essence,
A most heauenlytreasureprocreateby quintessence.
40. to attayne] Titan S4, M
42. be not afraide] A2, H, R, S3, T; omit M, S4, S6

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 23

[8] Then studied I what quintessenceshould be; 50

Of visible thinges apparantto the eye
The fifth being, even a straungeprivity
In euery substanceresting invisibly.
The invisible godheade is the same, thought I,
Prime cause of beinge & the prime essence, 55
And of this macrocosmthe most suffrenquintessence.

[9] This is the heauenly and secret potencyall

That Devided is, & resteth indivisible
In thinges animall,vigitall, & minerall;
Whose vertue in them, & strength, is invisible. 6o
From god it commeth, & god maketh it sencible
To some preelect; to other doth it denay.
As I sate thus museinge, a voice to me did say:

[io] " Study thou no more of my being, but stedfastly

Beleeue this trinity equally knit in one. 65
Furtherof my Secretesto muse is but folly,
Passing thy capassity, & all human reason."
*Theheauens closed vp againe in that season.
Then father Tyme set me at the gate,
And Delluered me a key to enter in thereat: 70

[i i] The key of knowledge & excellent Science,

Whereby all secretes of philosophi are reserate:
The Secretesof nature sought out by Diligence,
Voidinge fables envious of fooles inveterate:
With recipe & Decipe, this science is violate. 75
Therefore [to me] this key he did Dispose,
The secretes of this art to open & Disclose.

[I2] This said father Tyme, this key when he mee tooke:
"Vnlock," quoth he, "this gate by thy selue."
56. macrocosm] microcosm AI, A3, A4, H, L, P, R, Si, S2, S3, S5
76. to me] AI, A3, A4, L, P, R, Si, S2, S3, Ss, T, W; omit M, S4

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24 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
And then vpon him sorrowfully Did I looke, 8o
Saying that one key vndoe could not lockes twelue.
"Whose axe is sure," quoth he, "both the head & helue,
Hold will together till the tree Downe fall.
So open thou the first locke, & thou hast opened all."

[I 3] "What is this first locke named, tell me then, 85

I Pray thee," said I, "and what shall I it call?"'
"It is," quoth he, "the secret of all the wise men,
Chaos; in the bodies called the first originall,
Prima materia,our mercury, our menstruall,
Our vitrioll, our sulphur, our lunary most of price. go
Put the key in the locke, & it will open with a trice."

[I4] Then the key of knowledge buysily I tooke in hand,

And began to search the hollownes of the locke;
The wardes thereof I scarce did vnderstand,
So craftily conveid they were in their stocke. 95
I proued euery way; at the last I did vnlocke
The crafty ginnes thus made for the nonce,
And with it, the other lockes fell open all at once.

[I5] At this gate opening, euen in the entry

A number of philosophers in the face I mett, IoO
Workeing all one way the secretes of philosophy
Vpon Chaos Darke, that amongst them was sett.
Sober men of liueing, peaceable & quiet,
They buysily Disputed de materiaprima,
Reiecting cleane away simul stulta etfriuola. I05

[I6] Heere I saw the father of philosophers, Hermes.

Heere I saw [Democritus] with cheere most locunde.
Heere I saw Morien & Senior in turba more & lesse;

107. Democritus] All MSS readAristotle, but Democritus

is the" laughing
philosopher"
suggestedby with cheere most Iocunde. See noteto 1. IO9.

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 25
Geber, [Aristotle], Albert, Bacon, & Ramond;
The monke, & the chanon of Bridleington so
profound, IIo
Workeing most soberly, who said vnto me:
"Beware thou beleeue not all that thou dost see,

[I7] "But if thou wilt enter this camp of philosophy,

With thee take time to guide thee in the way;
For by pathes & broade waies, Deep vallyes &
hils high 115
Here shalt thou finde with sightes pleasant & gay.
Some thou shalt linde which vnto thee shall say,
'Recipe this & that,' & with a thowsand thinges more
Decipe thy selfe & other[s] as they haue done before."

[I8] ThenfatherTyme & I by fauourof thesemen, I20

Such sightes to see, passed foorth toward the campe
Where wee met Disguised philosophers ten,
With porfiries & morters, ready to grind & stamp;
Their heades shakeing, their hands full of the cramp;
Some lame [with] spasums,some febull, wann, &
blind, I25
With arsneck & sulphur, to this art most vnkind.

[I9] These were Broke the preste & yorke in cotes gay,
Which robbed king henry of a million of gold;
Martinpery, mayre, & thomas De Lahaye,
Saying that the king they greatly enrich would. 130
They wispered in his eare, & this tale him told:
"'Weewill worke for your highnes the Elixer vite,
A princely worke called opusregale."

IO9. Geber] Sober AI, A3, A4, L, P, R, Sz, S3, T, W; Aristotle] Democritus AI,
A4, L, R, Sz, S3, T; all otherMSS readDemogorgon. See 1. I07.
I I9. others] In all MSS exceptM, S4, S6: other
I25. with] In all MSS exceptAz, H, M, S4

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z6 ThreeRenaissance ScientificPoems
[zo] Then brought they in the vicar of Maldon
With his lyon greene, that most royall secret, 135
Richardrecord & little MasterEdon
(Their mettals by corosiue[s] to calcinate& fret);
Hugh oldcastle & Sir Robert greene with them mett,
Rosting & broileinge all thinges out of kinde,
Like [Foolosophers]left off with loss in the end. I40

[zi] Yet brought they [forth] thinges beautifullto sight,

Deluding the king thus from day to day;
With copper cytrinatefor the red, and albefied [for]
the white,
And with mercuryrubifiedin a glas full gay.
But at the last, in the fire, it went away. I45
All this was because they neuer knew the verity
Of altitude, latitude, & profunditye.

[zz] Thence father Tyme brought me to a wildernes,

Into a thicket haueing by pathes many [a one].
Steps & footinges I saw there more & lesse, I50
Wherein the foresaid men had wandered & gone.
There I saw Marcasites, minerals, & many a stone,
As yrides, talke, & alom lay digged from the ground,
The mines of leade & Iron that they had out fownde.

[23] No marvell I trow, though they were much set by, I 55

That with so greate riches could [endue] a kinge.
So many sundry waies to fill vp his treasurie
With filthy matter, great charges in to bring:
The very next way a prince to bring to begginge,

I37. corosiues] In all MSS except M, P, S4, S6, W: corosiue

I40. Foolosophers] H, L, R, T; all other MSS read philosophers
141. forth] In all MSS except M, S4: some thinges
143. for] In all MSS exceptH, M, S4: to
I49. a one] In all MSS exceptH, M, S4, S6: wayes
156. endue] A3, A4, H, P, R, SI, S3, T, W; Indote H, M, S4, S6; Induce AI, Sz;
Inriches Ai

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 27

And make a noble realme & common wealth decay. I6o

These are royall philosophersthe cleane contraryway.

[24] From thence foorth I went, Tyme beinge my guide,

Through a greene wood where birdes sang clearly,
Tyll wee came to a feild, pleasant,large, &-wide,
Which he said was called the camp of philosophy. i65
There downe we sate, to heere the sweete harmony
Of the diuers birdes in their sweete notes singinge,
And to receiue the flauourof the flowers springinge.

[z5] Heere luno, heere pallas, heere Apollo doe Dwell;

Heere true philosopherstake their dwelling place. I70
Heere duly the muses nine drinck of pirenes well.
No bosting broyler heere the art can deface.
Heere lady philosophi hath her royall palace,
Holding her court in her high consistory,
Sitting with her councelersmost famousof memory. I75

[26] Thus one said vnto me (an ancient man was he),
Declareing [forth] the matter of the stone,
Saying that he was sent thither to comfort me,
And of his religion for to chuse me to be one.
A cloth of tyssew he had him vpon, i 8o
Verged aboute with pearles of collers fresh & gay.
He proceeded with his taile, & againe thus did say:

[27] "Heere all occult secretes of Nature knowne are;

Heere all the elementesfrom thinges are drawne out.
Heere fire, air, & water in earth are knit together; i 85
Heere all our secret worke is truly brought aboute.
Heere you must learne in thy buisines to be stout:

177. forth] Ai, A3, A4, L, R, SI, S2, S5, T; all otherMSS readfurther or farther
I87.] Omit line: Ai, A3, A4, P, S2, W. Heere mayest thow learne this maysterie
owt of doubt Si, SS

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z8 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Night & day thou must tend thy worke buysily,
Haueing constant pacience & neuer to be weary."

[28] As we sate talkeing by the riuers running cleere, I90

I cast my eye aside, & there I did behold
A lady most excellent, sitting in her arbor,
Which clothed was in a robe of fine gold,
Set about with stones & pearles many fold.
Then asked I father Tyme what shee should be. 195
"Lady philosophy," quoth he, "most excellent of
beauty."

[29] Then was I stricken with an ardent avidity

The place to approche to, where I saw that sight.
I rose vp to walk, & the other two went before me
Against the arbor, till I came foorth right. 200
Then we all three, humbly as we might,
Bowed down our selues to her with humility,
With greate admiracion extolling her felicity.

[30] Shee shewed her selue both gentill & benigne:

Her gesture & countenance gladdid our cominge. 205
From her seate imperiall, shee did her selfe incline,
As a lady loueing perfect wisedome & cunninge.
Her goodly poems her beauty was surmountinge:
Her speech was decorate with such auriate sentence,
Farr aboue excelling famous tullye's eloquence. 2I0

[3I] Then father tyme vnto the Lady saide,

"Pleaseth your highnes this poore man to heere,
Him to assist with your most gracious aide?"
Then she commanded him with me to draw neere.
"Son," said the lady, "be thou of good cheere. 215
Admitted thou shalt be amongst greate & smale,
A disciple to be of my secretes all."

2I7.] To be one of my Schollars principal L, R, T

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 29
[32] Then she committed me vnto Ramond Lully,
Commaundinghim my simplenes to instructe,
And in her secretes to induce me fully: 220
Into her priuy garden, for to be my conducte.
First into a towre, most beautifullconstructe,
FatherRamond brought me, & thence immediately
He led me to her garden, planted most deliciously.

[33] Among the faire trees, one tree in especiall, 225

Most vernant & pleasant,appearedto my sight.
A name inscribed, "the tree philosophicall,"
Which to behold I had great delight.
Then to philosophy my troth I plight,
Her maiesty to serue, & to take greate paine, 230
The fruites of that tree with Ramond to attaine.

[34] Then Ramonde shewed me budes fiftene

Spring of the tree, & fruites fiftene mo.
"Of the which," said he, "proceedeth that wee doe mean,
That all philosophers couet to attaine to, 235
The blessed stone, one in number & no mo:
Our great Elixer most high of price,
Our azoc, our Adrope, our basilicke, our cockatrice.

35 "This is our antimony & our red leade,

Gloriously shineing as Phebus at midday. 240
This is our crowne of glory & Diadem of our head
Whose beames resplendentshall neuer fade away.
Who attaineththis treasurenever can decay:
It is a Jewell so abundant & excellent,
That one graine will endure euer to be permanent. 245

[36] ""Ileave thee heere now, our secretes to attaine.

Look that thou earnestlymy counsell doe ensue:
233. fruites fiftene mo] fruictes more A2, A3, SI, S3, S5; frutes sixe mo AI, S2
234. Of the which, said he] Of the which said Tree L, R, T

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30 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
There needes no blowing at the cole be, nor paine,
But at thine owne ease here maist thou continue.
Old, Ancient writers beleeue which are true, 250
And they shall thee learne to pass it to bringe.
Beware therefore of many, & hold thee to one thinge.

[37] "This one thing is nought els but the lyon greene,
[Which] some fooles imagine to be vitrioll roman.
It is not that thing that the philosophers meane, 255
For nothing to vs any corosiue doe pertaine.
Vnderstand, therefore, or els thy hand refraine
From this hard science, lest you doe worke amiss.
For I will tell the truth; marke now what it is:

[38] "Greene of collor our lyon is not truly, 260

But vernant & greene, euermore endurringe.
In his most bitternes of death, he is liuely;
In the burning fire he is euermore springinge.
Therefore the Salamander, by fire liueing,
Some men doth him call, & some another name: 265
The mettalline menstruall, it is euen the same.

[39] "Some call it allso a substance exuberate.

Some call it mercury of mettalline essence;
Some, limus deserti,from his body evacuate;
Some, the eagle flyinge from the north with violence. 270
Some call it a tode for his great vehemence.
But few or none at all doe name it in his kind:
It is a priuy quintessence; keepe it well in minde.

[40] "This is not in sight, but resteth invisible

Tyll he be forced out of Chaos darke, 275
Wher he remaineth euer indiuisible.

254. Which] As Az, H, M, S4, S6; roman] common AI, L, R, S2

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 TheNobleScienceof Alhebmy 3'
And yet in him is foundacion of our worke;
In our lead it is, so that thou it marke:
Dryue it out of him, so out of all other.
I can tell thee no better if thou were my brother. 28o

[41. "This Chaos Darke the mettals I doe call,

Because as in a prison it resteth them within.
The secret of naturethey keepe in thrall
Which by a meane wee doe out twine;
The workeing whereof the easlierto begin, 285
Lift vp thy head and looke vpon the heauen,
And I will learn thee truly to know the planetes seven.

finis primi libri

the7 planetes
TheSecondBookeconcerninge

[42] "Saturne malivolous, to this art hath respect,

Of whom wee draw a quintessenceexcellent.
Vnto our masteryhim selfe he doth converte, 2go
Vnited in quallity, & allso made equipolent
In strength & vertue. Who lust to be diligent
Shall find that wee seeke an heavenly treasure,
And a precious lewell that euer shall endure.

[431 "lubiter the gentill, indewed with azure blew, 295

Examinateby iustice, Declareth true ludgement;
Altering his colour euer fresh & new,
In his occult natureto this art is convenient;
To philosophi is seruiable& allso obedient,
loyned with lunary after his owne kinde 300
Conteneth this art & leaueth nothing behinde.

285. whereof the easlier]When of Elixer Ai, A4, S2; whereof the Elixer S4

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32 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
[44L "Mars that is martiall in citty and in towne,
Ferce in battle, full of debate & strife,
A noble warryour & famous of renowne,
With fire & sword defendeth his owne life. 305
He stayneth with blood, & slayeth with a knife
All spirites & bodies, his artes bee so bold.
The hartes of all other he winneth with gold.

[45] "The Sonn most gloriously shininge is prepotent

Above all the other faire planetes seven; 3IO
Shedding his light to them all indifferent.
With his golden beames & glistering stevyn,
He lighteneth the earth & the firmament of heaven.
Who can him Dissolue, & draw out his quintessence,
Vnto all other planetes he shall giue influence. 3I 5

[46] "Lady venus, of loue the fayre goddesse,

With her Sonn cupid appertaineth to this art.
To the loue of the sonn when she Doth her dresse,
With her dart of loue striketh him to the hart.
loyned to his seede, of his substance she taketh part. 320
Her selue she endeweth with excellent tissew,
Her corrupt nature [when she doth renewe].

[47] "Mercury this seeing, beginneth to be fugitiue.

With his rod of enchantment little Doth prevaile:
Taken often prisoner, himselfe doth reviue, 325
Till he be snarled with the Dragon's taile;
Then Doth he on an hard coate of maile,
Sodered together with the Sunn & the moone:
Then he is mastered & his enchantment Done.
[48] "The moone, that is called the lesser [luminarie], 330
Wife to phebus, shining by night

32I. tissew] issue Ai, A3, A4, P, SI, Sz, S3, S5, W
322. when she doth renewe] In all MSS exceptS4, M: who so doth renew
330. luminarie] H, S6; all otherMSS readlunary

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 33
To other giueth her garment; through her orbe lunary
From the north to the south shineth full bright.
If ye for her doe seeke, shee hideth from your sight,
But by fair entreatyshe is wonn at the last: 335
With azoc & fire, the whole masterythou hast.

[49] "The masterythou gettest not of these planetes seven,

But by a misty meaninge, known onely vnto vs.
Bring them first to hell & afterwardto heauen;
Betwixt life & Death them you must Discus. 340
ThereforeI counsaile thee, see that you worke thus:
Solue & seperatethem, sublyme, fix, & congeale;
Then hast thou all, therfore doe as I thee tell.

[50] "Dissolue not with corosiue nor vse seperation

With vehemence of fire, as multipliersdoe vse; 345
Nor to the glas topp make you sublimacion.
Such waies inordinate,philosophersrefuse.
Their sayinges follow & wisely them pervse;
Then shalt thou not thy selfe ludely Delude
In this godly science. Adew; thus I conclude." 350
per me Wll. Blomefild

Incipittheorica
per Wll Blomefild

[5I] [We] intend now, through grace Devine,

In few wordes of Chaos to write;
Light from darknesto cause foorth to shine,
Long before hidden, as I shall recyte.
In euery thing vnknown, it is requisite 355
A secret to search out which is invisible,
Materiallof our mastery,a substanceinvincible.
35I. We] In all MSS exceptH, M, S4, S6: I (Theacrosticof WilliamBlomfild'sname
whichbeginsagainhererequiresthe adoptedreading.)
357. invincible] H, M, S4, S6; Incensible Ai, L, R, Si, S2, T

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34 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
[5z] Because I should not seeme to inclose
Long hidden treasure vnto me committed
Of my lord god, therefore plaine of Chaos 360
My purpose shalbe there of to be acquited.
For Daungerous burdens are not easily lighted.
In faith, therefore, my selfe I shall endeuor
Lightly to Discharge me, before god for euer.

[53] Devoutly, therefore, o lord vnto thee I call: 365

Send me thy grace to make explanacion
Of Chaos. For thou art opener of secretes all,
Which euer art ready to heare the exclamacion
Of thy meeke servantes, which with harty humiliacion
To thee doe apply: send me now thy grace, 370
Of thy secretes to write in due order, time, & place.

[541 Chaos is no more to say (this is doubtelesse,

As Ovid witnesseth in his metamorphosyn)
But a certaine rude substance, indigestaquemoles,
Haueing diuers natures resting it within, 375
Which with the contrarie, wee may out twine
By philosopher's arte. Who so the feate doth know,
The fower elementes from Chaos can out [drawe].

[5 5] This Chaos, as all thinges, hath Dimencions three,

Which well considered shall foRlow the effect: 38o
That is, altitude, latitude, & profunditye,
By the which three all the matter is [detect].
Vnto these dimencions who hath not a respect
Shall neuer Devide this Chaos in his kinde,
But after his labour, shall find fraud in the end. 385

358. inclose] In all MSS exceptAI, A4, L, R, S2, S3: disclose

378. drawe] Throwe AI, A3, A4, P, M, S4, S6, W
382. detect] In elevenMSS; Decoct M, S4; Direct A3, SI, S5, T

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 35
[56] Chaos is to us the vine tree, white & red.
Chaos is each beest, fowle, & fish in his kinde.
Chaos is the ore & mine of tinn & leade,
Of gold & siluer that we doe out finde,
Iron & Copper, which thinges doe binde 390
And hold our sight & wittes to them bounde;
The secret hidd in them, that wee ne vnderstand.

[5i7] [Out of this mistie] Chaos, the philosophers expert

Do a substanceout draw, called a quintessence,
Craftelydeviding the fower elementes by art, 395
With greate wisedome, study, & dilegence.
The which high secret hath a diuine influence
That is supernaturall(of fooles thought impossible),
An oyle or much like, called incombustible.

[58] The masteryof this plainly to shew thee, 400

In forme here after I will it Declare,
Setting foorth heere the philosopher'stree,
Wherein the whole art now I shall compare.
In this faire tree [XV] fruites are,
More pretious then gold in thy stomacke to digest. 405
Put thy hand therto, & taste of the best.

[59] And leste the fault should imputed be

In me or in other that of this art do write,
I set before thee the true figure of the tree,
Wherein orderly this art I will recyte. 410
Vnderstandmy sentence that thou maist worke right,
Consideringas I said that Chaos is all thing
That we begin of, the true way of workinge.

[6o] Put case thy Chaos be animall,vigetall, or minerall;

Let reason guide thee to worke after the same. 415

393. Out of this mistie] In all MSS exceptM (illegible),S4: In the mastery
404. xv] M; your S4; sixteene all otherMSS

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36 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
If thou workest out of kind, then loosest thou all;
For naturewith natureioyeth & maketh true game.
Worke animallwith his kind, & keep thee out of blame;
Vigetall & minerallin their order Dew,
Then shalt thou be taken for a philosopher trew. 420

[6i] When thou hast fownde what it is indeede,

Then knowest thou thy forme, what by reasonit must be.
Searchit wittyly & Draw from him his seede.
There is then thy altitude superficiallto see;
The latitude anon shall appeare:beleeue mee. 425
When thou hast Deuided the elementesasunder,
Then the profundityamongest them [lyeth] hid vnder.

[62] Here is materiaprimaet corpusconfusum,

But not yet the matterwhich philosophersDoe treate.
Yet the one conteineth the other in somme, 430
Forforma, materia,[et] corpustogether are knite.
With the menstruallwater thou must them frett,
That the body first be finely calcinate,
After dissolued & purely euacuate.

[63] Then is he the trew mercuryof philosophers, 435

Vnto the mastryapt, needful, & serviable.
More of this thing I need not much rehearse,
For this is all the secret most commendable.
Materiaprimait is called multiplicable,
The which by art must be exuberate: 440
Then is it the matterthat mettalswere of generate.

[64] Sulphurof nature, & not that which is common,

Of mettals must be made if that thou wilt speede;
Which will turn [them] to his kind euery each one.
427. lyeth] In all MSS except M (illegible), S4: is
43I. et] Az, L, R, SI, S3, S5, T; all other MSS omit
444. them] In all MSS except M they, S4 therto

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 37
His tincture into them abroadhe will spreade. 445
It will fix mercurycommon at thy neede,
And make him apt, true tincture to receiue.
Worke as I haue told thee, & it shall not thee deceiue.
[65] Then of Sunn & moone make your oile incombustible
With mercuryvegitable or els with lunary. 450
Inceratetherewith, & make thy sulphurpossible
To abide the fire, & allso thy mercury
Be fixt & flowinge. Then hast thou wrought truly,
And so hast thou made a worke for the nonce,
And gotten a precious stone of all stones. 45 5
[66] Fix it vp now with perfect Decoction,
And that with easy fire & not vehement,
For fear of induracionor vitrificacion,
Lest you loose all & thy labour be mispent.
With eight Daies & nightes this stone is sufficient: 460
The greate Elixer, most high of price,
Which Ramond calleth his basilicke & cockatrise.
[67] To this excellent worke greate cost neede not to be:
Many glasses or pots about it to breake.
One glas, one furnace, & no mo of necessity; 465
Who mo doth spoile, his wittes are but weake.
All this is stilled in a limbecke with a beacke
(As touching the order of distillacions),
And with a blind head on the same for solucions.
[68] In this thy mercurytaketh his true kinde. 470
In this he is brought to multiplication.
In this made he is Sulphur:beare it in mind.
Tincture here in he taketh, & inceration.
In this the stone is brought to his perfect creacion,
In one glas, one thing, one fire, & no moe. 475
This worke is complete: Da gloriamdeo.
finis theoricaper Wll. B.

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38 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Incipit Practica:per Wll. Blomefild

[69] Wee haue declared sufficiently the theoricke,

In wordes misticall makeing Declaration.
Let vs now proceede plaine with the practicke,
Largely of the matter to make explanacion. 480
I will, therefore, that thou marke well my narracion,
As true disciples my doctrine ye attend:
My testament & last will to you I doe commend.
[7o] Be you holy, therefore, sober, honest, & meeke.
Loue god & your neighbor; to the poore be not
vnkinde. 485
Ouercome sathan; god's glory see you seeke.
My sonn, be gentle to all men, as a freind;
Fatherles & widdowes haue euer in thy minde.
Innocentes loue as brothers; the wicked Doe eschew.
Let falsehood & flattery goe, lest that thou it rew. 490

[7i] Devoutely serue god, call Daily for his grace.

Worship him in spirit, with hart contryte & pure;
In no wise let sathan thy prayers deface.
Looke thou be stedfast in faith & trust most sure.
Long sufferance & patience with thee let long
endure; 495
In all aduersitye be gentle in thy hart
Against thy foe: so shalt thou him convert.
[72] Most hartily therefore, o lord, to thee I call,
Beseeching thee to ayd me with thy heauenly grace.
Louingly thy spirit vpon me let Down fall, 500
Ouershadowing me that I at no tyme trespas.
My lord & my god, graunt me to purchase
Full knowledge of thy secretes, with thy mercy to winn.
Intending the truth, this practice I beginn.
95.] A4, H, M, S4, S6; Lay up treasure in heaven which ever shall endure L, R, T;
omit A2, SI, S3, S5

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 39
[73] Listen now, my Sonn, & thy eares encline. 505
Delight haue thou to learne this practice,sage and true.
Attend my sayinges & note well this Discipline,
These rules following: Doe as doth ensue:
This labor once begun, thou must it Continue
Without teadious sluggerdy & slothfull wearynes; 5I0
So shalt thou thereby acquireto thee right riches.

[74z. In the name of God, this secret to attaine,

loyne thou in one body with a perfect vnity
First the red man & the white woman, these twaine.
One of the man'ssubstance,& of the woman's three; 5I 5
By liquifactiontogether ioyned they must be:
The which coniunction is called Diptatyue,
That is made betweene man & wife.

[75] Then after that they be one body made,

With the sharpteeth of a Dragon finely 5zo
Bring them to dust. The next must be had:
The true proportion of that dust truly
In a true ballance,waying it equally
With three times as much of the firy dragon fell,
Mixing all together: then hast thou done well. 525
[76] Thy substancetogether thus proporcionate,
Put into a bed of glas with a bottome large & round,
There in due time to dye, & be regenerate
Into a new nature: three naturesin one bound.
Then be thou glad that euer thou it found, 530
For this is the Iewell that shall stand thee most
in stead,
The crowne of glory & diademeof thy head.

[77] When thou hast thus mixed thy matter as is said,

Stop well thy glas, that the dragon goe not owt;
For he is so subtill that if he be ouerlayde 535
With fyre vnnaturall(I put thee owt of dowbte),
For to escape he wyll searchall abowte.

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40 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Therefore with gentyll fyre, looke that thou kepe [it] in:
So shalt thou of him the whole maistry wynne.

[78] The whole maistery here of, Duly to fullfill, 540

Set thy glas & matter vpon the athanor,
[Our] furnace called the philosopher's Dunghill.
With a temperate heate workeing euermore,
Night & day continually haue fuell in store,
Of turfe, or saw Dust, or dry chipped segges, 545
That the heate be equipolent to the henn vpon her eggs.

[791 Such heate continuall, looke that it doth not lacke.

Forty Dayes long for their perfect vnition
In them is made, for first it turneth blacke.
This colour betokeneth the right putrifaction. 550
This is the begining of perfect conception
Of your infant into a new generacion:
A most precious Jewell for our great consolation.

[8o] Forty dayes then more, thy matter shall turne white
And cleere as pearles, which is a declaracion S55
Of voideing away of his cloudes, darke, & night.
This sheweth our infante's organisacion,
Our white elixer, most cleere in his carnacion.
From white vnto all coloures without faile,
Like to the rainbow or to the peacocke's taile. 56o

[8i] So foorth augment thy fire continually;

Vnder thy matter easely they must be fedd.
Till those colours be gone, rule it wisely;
For soone after appeareth yellow, the [messenger] to red.

538. it] In all MSS except M, S4, Ss omit

542. Our] In all MSS except H, M, S4, S6: One
548. vnition] A4, H, M, S4, S6; union all other MSS
564. messenger] In all MSS except M, S4: message

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alhebmy 41

When that is come, then hast thou well sped, 565

And hast brought forth a stone of price,
Which raymondcalleth his basylicke & cockatrice.

[82] Then forty Daies to take his whole fixation:

Let it so stand in heate most temperate,
That in that time you spare the firmentation 570
To encreasehim withall. That it be not violate,
Beware of fire & water, for that will it suffocate.
Take one to an hundrethvnto this confection,
And vpon crude mercurymake thy proiection.

[83] One of the stone, I meane, vpon an hundrethfold 575

(After the first & second right fermentation)
Of mercurycrude, turneth it to fine gold:
As fine & as good, as naturallin ponderacion
(The stone is so vehement in his penetracion),
Fixt & fusible, as the goldsmithe's solder is. 58o
Worke as I haue said, & you cannot Doe amisse.

[84] Now giue thankes to the blessed trinity

For the benefit of this pretious stone,
That with his grace so much hath lightened thee,
Him for to know, being three and one. 585
Hold vp thy handes to his heauenly throne;
To his maiesty let vs sing hosanna:
AltissimoDeo sit honoret gloria.

Amen. W.B.

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 Notes
Works Cited by Brief Reference

Albertus Magnus. Book of Minerals [Mineralia]. Tr. Dorothy Wyckoff. Ox-

ford: Clarendon Press, I967.
Ashmole, Elias, comp. TheatrumChemicumBritannicum.I 6 S2; facs. rpt. New
York: Johnson Reprint Corp., I967.
Black, William H. A Descriptive, Analytical, and Critical Catalogue of the
ManuscriptsBequeathedunto the University of Oxford by Elias Ashmole, Esq.
Oxford: The University Press, i 845.
TheBook of,QuinteEssenceor TheFifth Being.Ed. F. J. Furnivall. Rev. ed., I 889,
EETS, 0.S. i 6; rpt. London: Oxford Univ. Press, I 96 5.
Curtius, Ernst R. EuropeanLiteratureand theLatin Middle Ages. Tr. Willard R.
Trask. Bollingen Series, XXXVI. New York: Pantheon, I9S3
Fludd, Robert. Truth's GoldenHarrow. Ed. C. H. Josten, Ambix, III (I940),
9I-150.
Klibansky, Raymond, Erwin Panofsky, and Fritz Saxl. Saturn and Melancholy.
London: Thomas Nelson, I964.
Kocher, Paul H. Science and Religion in Elizabethan England. San Marino:
Huntington Library, I 9 S3-
Lydgate's and Burgh's Secrees of Old Philisoffres [Pseudo-Aristotle, Secreta
Secretorum]. Ed. Robert Steele. EETS, E.S., 66. London, i894.
Norton, Thomas. Ordinalof Alchemy. Ed. John Reidy. EETS 272. London:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1975
Panofsky, Erwin. Studies in Iconology. 1939; rpt. New York: Harper &
Row, I962.
Read, John. The Alchemist in Life, Literature, and Art. London: Thomas
Nelson, I947.
Prelude to Chemistry:An Outline of Alchemy. 2nd ed. 1936; rpt. Cam-
bridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press, I966.
Rulandus, Martinus the Elder. A Lexicon of Alchemy [Lexicon Alchemiae
(Frankfurt, I6I2)]. Tr. A. E. Waite. 1893; rpt. London: John M.
Watkins, I964.

I. When Phebus was entered the signe of the ramm. This common topos is
found throughout medieval literature (cf. Hawes's Passetyme of Pleasure,
Assembly of the Gods, Siege of Thebes,and Prologueto the CanterburyTales), but
in an alchemical work it has particular significance. Spring begins when the
42

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 43
sun entersAries, whose symbol is the ram,around z i March. The quickening
power of the sun-especially over the metal gold, its earthly counterpart-
was considered a prerequisite for the "growth" of gold in the earth, and
spring was thus an especially auspicious time for beginning the alchemical
work. Lydgate has a similar passage in his translationof the SecretaSecre-
torum(EETS ed., p. 42).
5. Tyme,producerof cunninge.For the tradition of Time as Revealer, see
Erwin Panofsky, Studiesin Iconology, Ch. 3, "Father Time." Blomfild com-
bines this personage with the common figure of the old man as guide to
knowledge; cf., e.g., Hoccleve's Regementof Princes(EETS ed., 11. I20 ff.).
Another old man appearsat 1. 176, below.
The identificationof Chronos(Time) and Kronos(Saturn)which took place
in antiquity may have been extended by some alchemiststo include Saturnas
the metal lead-or as the "Philosopher's Lead," i.e., the materiaprima and
thus literally the source of "all thinge," as the variant MSS read. This was
certainly done in the seventeenth century; see Read, Preludeto Chemistry,p.
zoI, and plates z6, 50.
The Neoplatonists accepted the identification of Kronosand Chronoson
metaphysical, rather than on physical or etymological, grounds. "They
interpreted Kronos, the father of gods and men as Nous, the Cosmic Mind,
and could easily merge this concept with that of Chronos, the 'father of all
things,' the 'wise old builder,' as he had been called" (Panofsky,p. 74). This
view would be especially important for alchemists studied in Learned
Hermetism, like Ashmole, Blomfild's seventeenth-century editor. The
Hermetist would not overlook the similarity between the opening stanzas
of the "Blossoms" and the Poimandres(or Pymander,the first text in the
CorpusHermeticum), for in the latterthe Nous appearsin a dreamand instructs
the dreamerin the mysteries of the Divine Mind and in the secrets of the
universe. The ascent through the spheresof stanza 5 would also corroborate
the Hermetic interpretation, as would the appearance of God as light, a
metaphor common to Neoplatonism and the Bible. See Curtius, European
Literatureand the Latin MiddleAges, pp. 443 f., for Macrobius' Kronos/
Chronos myth; also Klibansky et al., SaturnandMelancholy, pp. 139, I54-5,
i 6z, 202, 2 I2.
7. philosophy.I.e., alchemy; comparethe "Philosopher's Stone."
8. Bloomes... feild. A pun on the author's name as well as a possible
source for the variant title, "Blomfild's Blossoms."
24. lockestwelue. Only the first lock is given a particularmeaning (it is
Chaos; see stanza I3), but the number twelve recalls the "twelve gates" of
George Ripley's popular Compound of Alchymie,each of which stands for a
specific alchemicalprocess. Ripley was undoubtedly alluding to the twelve
gates of the New Jerusalemin Revelations, a point duly noted by Robert

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44 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Fludd, Truth's GoldenHarrow, p. i 2 i. Blomfild, who admired Ripley,
probably makes the same referencehere.
27-8. Here Time's role as Revealer is pre-eminent. I have found no
precedent for Time's having a magical rod; this is usually the equipment of
the god Mercury.
29. Audite somniummeumquodvidi. Genesis (Vulgate), 37:6: "Hear, I
prayyou, this dreamwhich I have dreamed." These are the words of Joseph,
as he tells his brothers the dream of the sheaves. The incident occurs at
the very beginning of Joseph's history; after he is sold into slavery and
taken to Egypt, he becomes famous as an interpreterof dreams (Chaucer
notes this in the Bookof the Duchess). The Biblical reference here adds to
the religious import of the dream, and to the authoritywith which Blomfild
speaks.
33. Inspiritu. .. heauen.Strictlvinterpreted,Blomfild'sascentinto heaven
would requiretraversingthe elementalspheres,the planetaryspheres,and the
sphere of the fixed stars,in order to penetratethe illimitable empyreanof the
Aristotelian-Ptolemaicuniverse. The empyrean was commonly viewed as
the home of angels, blessed spirits, the elect, and God. See Paul Kocher,
ScienceandReligionin EliZabethan England,pp. I48 ff.; F. R. Johnson, Astro-
nomicalThoughtin Renaissance England(Baltimore, I937), pp. 46, 56.
37. Ligth ... light. As earlyas the twelfth century,the "image of light was
far more than a literaryfigure; it was the consistent effect of the metaphysics
of emanation,which saw not only intelligences but natureitself as filled with
the light of the supremeand motionless One and as becoming assimilatedto
the One through conscious or unconscious contemplation of it.... [O]ne
of the best establishedcommonplacesof Christianthought is the connection
seen between such 'light' and Biblical uses of the image, all the way from
religious exaltation of the sun in the Old Testament to the concept of the
Logos, light of man" (Pere M.-D. Chenu, Nature, Man, and Societyin the
TwelfthCentury,tr. Jerome Taylor [Chicago, I968], p. 52, n. 2). Cornelius
Agrippa integrated this idea into his De occultaphilosophia,I, 49.
47. altitude,latitude,& profundity.These are the "three dimensions" of
the philosopher's stone, which correspond to the "body, soul, and spirit"
of materialthings; see note on 11.379 ff.
49 ff. quintessence.
See Introduction. Here the quintessenceis comparedto
God, who is the life-principleof all things and thereforethe quintessence of
the universe. Some authorities identified God as the Soul of the World;
Christianwriters did not always go this far, but both Ficino and Agrippa
identified the quintessencewith the spiritusmundi;see D. P. Walker,Spiritual
and DemonicMagicfrom Ficinoto Campanella (London, I958), pp. I 3 f., and
I, I4.
De occ.phil.,
52. even. Exactly, precisely, just; privity: secret.

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 45
57. heauenlyand secretpotenfyall. "Potencyall," because (i) it possesses
power or potency, and (z) it is latent and must be drawn out of bodies; this
latter is the task of the alchemist, and, as Blomfild says (1. 6I), it is made
"sencible "-actual or perceivable-only to those chosen by God, those
"preelect."
65. this triniy. Both the divine mystery of the Trinity and the alchemical
trinity of "altitude, latitude, and profundity," which is "procreate by
quintessence" (1. 49).
72. reserate.Opened up.
75. With recipe& Decipe. The meaning is more clear in the variant
spellings: receatteand deceatt(A3, SI, S5). This catch phrase, which appears
throughout English alchemicalliterature,refers to the two main activities of
the fraudulentalchemists:concocting metalsunnaturally,and then using these
concoctions to deceive the public with false claims of gold-making; see
11.II8-I9.
82-3. This proverb appears in neither of the dictionaries of maxims
compiled by M. P. Tilley and B. J. Whiting, although both record several
sayings about the ax and helve (handle).
88. Chaos. For this central concept, see Introduction and stanzas 54 ff.
Here we may understandit simply as the prime matter from which gold is
eventually produced. All the other terms in this stanza can be taken as
synonymous with this same prime matter: listing synonyms was a favorite
practice in alchemical tracts, as Ben Jonson's Subtle abundantly shows.
Nevertheless, each of these terms is used in a differentcontext in the " Theo-
rica," below.
94. wardes. Each of the ridges projecting from the inside plate of a lock,
serving to prevent the passage of any key the bit of which is not provided
with incisions of correspondingform and size; perhapswith a pun on words.
105. simul stulta et friuola. "Things at once silly and foolish," perhaps
with a glance at z Timothy 2: 23.
io6. Hermes.HermesTrismegistus,reputedfounder of alchemy,astrology,
and magic, author of the EmeraldTableand other "popular" Hermetic texts.
Ashmole and others identified this Hermes with the priscus theologuswho
supposedly wrote the Corpus Hermeticum,the "learned" Hermetic texts
which received much attention by Renaissancescholars and magicians. See
F. A. Yates, GiordanoBrunoand the HermeticTradition(London & Chicago,
I964), esp. Ch. 3.
IO7. Democritus. Several Greek alchemicaltreatisesare attributedto him,
as are several to Aristotle (1. IO9). See note to 1. 417.
Io8. Morien. Morienus Romanus was supposed to have been an Arab
convert to Christianitywho had learned the secrets of alchemy from either
Stephanos of Alexandriaor one Adfar of Alexandria. After his conversion

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46 ThreeRenaissance
ScientificPoems
he scorned the joys of this world and became a hermit near Jerusalem, where
he was later discovered by passers-by. He was eventually convinced to
become the tutor of the Umayyad prince, Khalid ibn Yazid, who died about
A.D. 704. This story is told in the De compositionealchemiae, ascribed to
Morienus, who also is credited with the De transfigurationemetallorum(Paris,
I559). For the importance of Morienus in Western alchemy, see John
Ferguson, Bibliotbeca Chemica (I906; rpt. London, I954), II, I08-9; E. J.
Holmyard, Alchemy, pp. 64-5; and Lee Stravenhagen, "The Original Text
of the Latin Morienus,"Ambix, XVII (1970), 1-12.
Senior. Senior Zadith, son of Hamuel, is the Latin name given to the author
of two treatises, Senioris Antiquissimi PhilosophiLibellus and Tabula Chimica.
The Arabic originals of both these works have been discovered, and they
are the work of the tenth-century Muslim, Muhammad ibn Umail. Hence the
Latin works which Blomfild probably knew were some of the earliest to have
been translated from the Arabic when alchemy was first introduced into the
West. For Arabic and Latin texts, see Henry E. Stapleton et al., "Three
Arabic Alchemical Treatises by Muhammad ibn Umail," Memoirs of the
Asiatic Societyof Bengal,XII (I 933), I-2 13.
in turba. "In the crowd"; there may also be an allusion to the famous
treatise, Turbaphilosophorum(ed. Julius Ruska, 193I), although none of the
alchemists mentioned in this stanza appears in that work.
I09. Geber. The Latinized name of Jabir ibn Hayyan, an eighth- or
ninth-century Arabic alchemist whose works were highly influential on
Western alchemy; see Holmyard, Alchemy, pp. 68-82.
Albert, Bacon, & Ramond. Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, and pseudo-
Ramon Lull, all important medieval alchemists. Blomfild is especially
indebted to the Lullian texts, on which see Introduction and 11. 21 8 if.
1 I0. The monke. This is not, I believe, in apposition either with " Ramond"
or with "the chanon of Bridleington"; it may be a reference to John
Lydgate, translator of the Secreta Secretorum. Lydgate was a monk of Bury
St. Edmunds, where Blomfild himself had been a member of the Benedictine
community, and this may account for the obscure reference.
chanonof Bridleington. George Ripley (died c. 1490); see Introduction, note
to 1. 24, and DNB. Ashmole's Theatrumcontains Ripley's Compoundand the
Preface to the Medulla Alchemiae, both of which influenced Blomfild.
123. porfiries. Porphyry (late ME usage), a very hard rock sometimes used
as a mortar. The implication here is that the false alchemists use unnatural
methods; cf. 1. I 37, where the " corosiues " are indicative of the same process.
I26. arsneck & sulphur. The common substances known by these names.
The sulphur here is to be distinguished from that mentioned later, e.g., at
1. 442, which is "philosophical sulphur," the theoretical substance that, along
with "philosophical mercury," was thought to be a basic constituent of all
metals.

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 47
127-38. Warton (History of English Poetry, ed. Richard Price [London,
I840], III, 83) says these "Specious pretenders ... defrauded king Henry the
Fourth of immense treasures by a counterfeit elixir," but most of these men
appear to have been contemporaries of Blomfild. Ashmole (Theatrum,
p. 468) says of this section of the poem: "Bloomefieldgives us a Catalogueof the
cheife of this Tribe [i.e., of cheats] in his time, and I may safely tell the Reader
he shall gaine much benefit by this Worke, if he pick out what is said con-
cerning them, and study that First."
127. Broke thepreste. The only alchemist by this name to be found is one
"Master Broke of the Kynges styllatorys, and maker of his excellent waters,"
but this personage is credited with an alchemical work dated 1330, in MS
Ashmole I505, by W. H. Black, Catalogueof the Ashmolean Manuscripts, col.
1407.
yorke in cotesgay. Probably Sir John York (died I 569 ?), who held various
posts at the Royal Mint during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.
Blomfild seems to have suspected several of the King's appointees to the
mint; see following notes. On York, see DNB, XXI, I 249- 5 1.
129. Martin pery. On 26 January I542 William Paget, then ambassador
resident in Paris, wrote to Henry VIII: "Here is also one called Marten
Pery, which fled heretofore out of your Maiesties Realme for an accusacion
(as I remembre) eyther of false clipping or false coynyng of money / The man
dwelleth in Rowen. Because I am in doubt whyther he be capable of the
benefite of your Maiesties moost gracious pardon graunted in your Last
Parliament; or in what case he standeth towardes your Maiestie, I beseche
your Maiestie moost humbly to signifie vnto me how I shal consydre his
case; and further vse him as occasion shalbe ministred .. . " (Public Records
Office MS SP. I.I69, ff. i6r-i6v). Despite his past, Pery managed to be
appointed Comptroller of the King's Mint in September 1546, under
Edward VI. See note on Richard (i.e., Robert) Recorde, below.
mayre. Unidentified, but in MS Ashmole 1408, II, article 4, p. i8, is a
short note headed in the margin, "John Mayer's judgement." This is an
alchemical MS copied during the time of James I, and this John Mayer may
have been a contemporary of Blomfild.
thomas De Laheye. Unidentified.
132-3. Elixer vite . . . opus regale. The Elixir vitae was frequently identified
with the Philosopher's Stone, the making of which was called the "royal
art," or "royal work."
134. vicar of Maldon. Unidentified, but the inclusion of this personage
among the frauds was an embarrassment to Ashmole, who adds this note to
the poem called "The Hunting of the Greene Lyon, Written by the Vicar of
Malden": "In the Campe of Philosophy,Bloomefieldreckons up a Worke that
beares the Title of the Greene Lyon, and amongst other Impostors (of his

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48 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Tyme) calls the Vicar of Maldon, (but in some Copies Vicar of Walden) the
Author; and consequently esteemes the Worke spurious ... But what Piece
soever that was I know not: I am confident this, that I here present my
Reader with under that Tytle, is a perfect Worke, and truly Philosophicall;
besides some Copies owne Abraham Andrewsfor their Author. . ." (Theatrum,
p. 474). Blomfild obviously knew this alchemical poem (printed in Theatrum,
pp. 278-86) but did not share Ashmole's admiration for it.
136. Richard record. Blomfild almost certainly means Robert Recorde
(I Ia ?-i 558), a renowned mathematician, physician, and man of science.
During the I 55 o's he was put in charge of the King's mines and mints in
Ireland, and the Acts of the Privy Councilfor 1 550-I 5 52 contain several letters
relating to Recorde and Martin Pery, who was still Comptroller of the Mint
in England. See F. M. Clarke, "New Light on Robert Recorde," Isis, VIII
(I926), 50-70; W. B. Ober and R. M. Hurwitz, "Robert Recorde, M.D.,"
New York State Journal of Medicine, LXIX (I969), 2159-67; DNB. Blomfild
obviously believed Recorde and Pery collaborated to defraud the King.
little Master Edon. Probably Richard Eden (I52 I?-i 576), who held a
position in the Treasury from 1544-1546. He translated in 1553 Miinster's
Cosmographyand the Decadesof Peter Martyr (I 55 5), and died with the reputa-
tion of a scholar and a great man of science (see DNB). Nevertheless, in I 553
he was imprisoned in the Tower, having confessed to "multiplication" and
seeking the Philosopher's Stone, at the instigation of another prisoner,
Whalley. Eden's alchemical experiments are described in a letter to Lord
Burghley, dated i August I562 (in Letters on Scientific Subjects, ed. J. 0.
Halliwell [I84I; rpt. London, I965], pp. I-6). See also Robert Steele,
"Alchemy in England," The Antiquary, XXIV (I89I), 105; and Christopher
Kitching, "Alchemy in the Reign of Edward VI: an Episode in the Careers
of Richard Whalley and Richard Eden," Bull. of Inst. of Historical Research
(London), XLIV (I97I), 308-15.
138. Hugh oldcastle. A mathematician and schoolmaster whose A profitable
treatise ... Debitor andCreditor(I 543) was the first book in English on double-
entry bookkeeping. Some account of Oldcastle is given in the I SS8 revision
of this work by John Mellis, A brief instructionand manerhow to keep bookesof
Accompts. See also Augustus De Morgan, ArithmeticalBooks (London, I 847),
p. 28; and K. Charlton, Educationin RenaissanceEngland(London and Toronto,
i965), pp. 259, 262. No record of Oldcastle's alchemical interests has been
found, but an anonymous verse translation of "Raymonde Lulle in his
Theoricke," found in MS W, accuses him again of not working alchemy
according to nature (f. 3 3v).
Sir Robertgreene. Ashmole records in MS Ashmole 972, f. 3zor, a descrip-
tion of MS Ashmole I468, which is a Latin alchemical volume in the hand of
Robert Greene. According to a note in MS W (f. 6r), Greene was born in

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 49
1467 and lived at least until 1538. M. R. James, List of MSS Formerly Owned
by Dr. John Dee (Oxford, I92I), says that a MS of Lully's Testamentum
passed from George Ripley to "Sir Robert Greene of Welbe (1523), a
famous alchemist who has added some signed recipes; from him [it passed] to
Dr. Dee" (p. 23). Works by Greene appear in all major collections, but
nothing else about his life has been discovered.
I40. Foolosophers. This punning neologism appears in two works con-
temporary with Blomfild: Barnabe Googe's 1576 translation of Palingenius'
Zodiacus Vitae (for MorosophiPhilodoxi), and Chaloner's I549 translation of
Erasmus' Moriae Encomium. Sir Thomas More employs morosophi("foolish
wise") in Utopia, as Lucian had done in his Alexander; see Edward Surtz, ed.,
Utopia (New Haven, I964), p. 23, n. 44.
143. the red and ... the white. I.e., the Red and White Stones, the principles
of Sulphur and Mercury to be used in the making of the Philosopher's
Stone. See stanza 74 for their proper use in the "Practica." Here the false
alchemists substitute copper made yellow (gytrinate)and white (albefied) for
the genuine substances.
152. Marcasites. "Marchasita, or marchasida,as some people say, is a stony
substance, and there are many kinds of it: for it takes the colour of any
metal whatever, and so it is called 'silver' or 'golden' marchasita,and so on
for the other metals. But the metal that colours it cannot be smelted from it,
but evaporates in the fire, leaving only useless ash. This stone is well known
among alchemists, and is found in many places " (Albertus Magnus, Mineralia,
tr. Dorothy Wyckoff [Oxford, I967], II, ii, i i). A common form of marca-
site is what today is called "fool's gold."
153. yrides. Probably a transliteration of the Latin iris (plural, irides), a
stone similar to rock crystal described by Albertus Magnus, Mineralia, II, ii, 8.
talke: I.e., talc, applied by medieval writers to various transparent,
translucent, or shining minerals, as talc proper, mica, selenite, etc.
alom: A whitish transparent mineral salt, chemically a double sulphate of
aluminum. Albertus Magnus devotes a chapter to "The Nature and Kinds
of Alum," Mineralia, V, i, 4.
I68. flauomr. Smell, odor.
I69. Iuno. This goddess has no specific alchemical significance, but her
favorite bird, the peacock, is an important symbol; see 1. 56o.
pallas. As the equivalent of Minerva, Pallas was associated in the Middle
Ages with the contemplativelife; accordingto Fulgentius, she offerswisdom,
and it is thus appropriatethat she dwell in the Camp of Philosophy (see
Douglas Bush, Mythologyand RenaissanceTradition,rev. ed. [New York, 1950],
p. 13).
Apollo. Also called Phoebus, the god of music and poetry, Apollo
frequently appears in alchemical allegories, representing the sun or gold.

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50 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
For the Renaissance euhemeristic interpretation of Apollo as physician and
necromancer, see Sidney Colvin, A FlorentinePictureChronicle(London, I 898),
plate S3 and notes; and Jean Seznec, The Survivalof the Pagan Gods, tr. B. F.
Sessions (I953; rpt. Princeton, 1972), pp. I7, 29.
171. pirenes well. Pieria, on the northern slopes of Mount Olympus, was
supposed to have been the original home of the Muses, whence they were
brought to the more familiar Helicon. The presence of the Muses in Philo-
sophy's Camp perhaps suggests the learning required of the genuine al-
chemist, or of the alchemist-poet.
176. ancientman. His identity is unclear, but this old man's concern with
religion and his rich garments and pearls suggest a supernatural quality.
Pearls, say some lapidaries, are bred by shellfish, but they are "gendered of
the dewe of heauen, which dewe the schell fissh receyueth in certen tymes
of the yer, of the which dew margarites [pearls] comen " (The " Peterborough
Lapidary," in Joan Evans and M. S. Serjeantson, MedievalLapidaries [London,
I933], p. I07; Isidore of Seville and Bartholomaeus Anglicus have similar
accounts). Lady Philosophy herself also wears pearls, as we see in 1. I 94, and
we should not forget the New Testament "Pearl of great price," the gift of
faith.
203. felicity. Blessing (?).
208. goodly poems. Lady Philosophy's poems and "eloquence" (1. 210)
may be thought to reflect on alchemical poetry generally and on Blomfild's
poem in particular.
209. auriatesentence. For the rhetorical ornamentation of language through
the use of "golden" Latinisms which Blomfild here extols, see John C.
Mendenhall, Aureate Terms (Lancaster, Pa., I9I9).
210. tullye's eloquence. The model for much of the "auriate sentence" of
the sixteenth century: the orations of Cicero.
218. Ramond Lully. The central importance of the Lullian alchemical
system is evidenced by the fact that Lully is Blomfild's personal guide
through Philosophy's garden; see note to 1. I09.
222. towre. Throughout medieval literature the tower is used to represent
a place of instruction or initiation. It appears among Ramon Lull's genuine
works and, e.g., in Palingenius' Zodiacus Vitae (Book IX, Sagittarius), where
Timalphes, son of Arete, instructs the poet in secrets of things beyond the
Lunar sphere. In The Court of Sapience,the poet is led to a tower of Philo-
sophy, a tower of Doctrine, etc. This figure appears in later alchemical
literature, as in The Alchemical Marriage of Christian RosencreutZ,a chief
Rosicrucian document, where the initiate climbs up and up within an
enormous tower, each additional level of which takes him higher into
mystical alchemy; see A. E. Waite, Real History of the Rosicrucians(London,
I887), pp. I69ff.

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 5'
227. treephilosophicall. See notes to 1. 404.
238. aZoc ... cockatrice. These terms are all synonyms for the Elixir, or
Philosopher's Stone, the final goal of the Great Work. For more specific
meanings of these terms, see 1. 462.
239. our antimony & our red leade. As in 11. 237-8, the our distinguishes
these substances from the ordinary ones of antimony and lead; here they are
synonyms for the Elixir. Antimony was the name Basilius Valentinus used for
the Elixir in his TriumphalChariotof Antimony, a passage of which reads, " be it
known to all, that Antimony doth not onely purge Gold and separate all
extraneous additions therefrom, but performs the same operation in the
bodyes of men, and other living creatures" (Read, Prelude, pp. I86 ff.).
241. crowneof glory & Diadem. Cf. Isaiah z8: 5, "In that day shall the Lord
of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue
of his people"; also 62: 3 and i Peter 5:4.
248-9. These lines suggest that alchemy can be a purely theoretical or
philosophical pursuit, since there need be "no blowing at the cole "-a
metonymy for the laboratory operations of -material alchemy-and since
Blomnifldis told, "at thine owne ease here [i.e., in the contemplative Camp of
Philosophy] maist thou continue."
250. Old, Ancient writers. Emphasizes the presumed unity and continuity
of the alchemical tradition. Hermetists like Ashmole would nod in approval
and include all the relevant prisci theologiamong these trusted authorities.
253. lyon greene. Evidently different from that of the false "Vicar of
Maldon" (11. I34-5), this green lion signifies, as we see in 1. 273, the quin-
tessence itself.
254. vitrioll roman. The term "vitriol" signified any glistening crystalline
body, usually sulphates of metals (Read, Prelude, p. 309). "Oil of vitriol" is
sulphuric acid, and J. R. Partington ("Albertus Magnus and Alchemy,"
Ambix I [May 1937], I9) says that Roman vitriol is perhaps the same thing.
This would be compatible with the sense of the poem, "for nothing to vs
any corosiue doe pertaine " (1. 25 6). The reason for the distinction between
the green lion and Roman vitriol is the Leo viridis is sometimes called vitriol:
"Leo viridis is the Ore of Hermes, Glass, and Vitriol, also the Blood from
Sulphur, the First Mercury of Gold, altered by means of the Lunar Body....
The green is that which is perfect upon the stone, -and can easily be made into
gold. All growing things are green, as also our stone" (Martinus Rulandus,
Lexicon Alchemiae, p. zo6). See 11. z6o ff. and above, 134.
266. mettalline menstruall. Menstruall: "That from which all metals are
derived" (Rulandus, Lexicon Alchemiae, pp. 228-9). The base metal under-
going transmutation was compared to the seed within the womb in relation
to the menstrual blood; see OED s.v. Menstruum.
267. exuberate. Made fruitful.

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52 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
268. mercuryof mettalline essence. Again, the Philosopher's Mercury, which
meant both the prime matter and the quintessence itself.
269. limus deserti,from his body evacuate. Presumably a metaphor for the
prima materia, but excrement may have been used in some alchemical
operations.
278. our lead. Another name for the prime matter; lead, being the least
pure and "lowest" of the metals, was the most likely analogue for the
Chaos.
281-3. Cf. these lines from "Ramonde lulle in his theoricke":

for as god made all thinge of one masse to his purpose accordinge
so our stone from the compounde chaos comethe furthe in season
wheare also the 4 elementes be as it weare in preson

(MS W, f. 33v).
284. out twine. Wind or twist out: "untangle."
288. Saturne malivolous. The malign influence of this melancholy planet is
well kn-own. The fifteenth-century Book of,QuinteEssence(ed. Furnivall, p. z6)
says, "Saturn is a planete evel-willid and full of sekenes. Wherfore he is
peyntid with an hooke, for he repeth down grene thingis." See also Klibansky
et al., Saturn and Melancholy. The metal represented is of course lead. On the
use of Olympian deities to represent planets and metals, see Read, Prelude,
pp. i6o if.
291. equipolent. Of equal power, or equivalent.
293-4. heavenly treasure. . ..precious Iewell. The Elixir or Philosopher's
Stone, which appears under these names in 11.49, 244.
296. examinate. Examined. Jupiter, like Venus, is a benign planet; it "is
a planete wele willyng to alle thingis to begendrid, plentiful & plesyng;
therfor he is y-seid lubiter as helpyn" (Book of Quinte Essence, p. z6). The
traditional colors of the planet were largely red and orange, but the planet's
"magical color" was blue (Yates, GiordanoBruno, p. 74). Here the "azure
blew" may also refer to the color of one of the impure forms in which tin
(Jupiter) was found. The association of Jupiter with justice and judgment
is found in a thirteenth-century astrological treatise by Michael Scot (Seznec,
Survival of the Pagan Gods, pp. I 56, 158), but I have not found this in later
literature.
300. lunaiy. "The Sulphur of Nature" (Rulandus, Lexicon Alchemiae, p.
385); lunarywas sometimes a synonym for lunar (i.e., the moon/silver). For
a Middle English alchemical poem on the herb Lunary (usually identified
with Moonwort), see Ashmole, Thea/rum,pp. 348-9.
302 ff. Mars (iron) is another malign planet, presented here as the god of
war.
309 ff. The sun (gold) is "prepotent"-pre-eminent in power-both as
planet and as metal. The sun is the source of life for all the planets, and gold,

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alhebmy 53
which is under its direct influence, contains the greatest amount of the
quintessence and is therefore the perfect metal.
312. stevyn.Appears in OED as (I) voice, usually a loud voice; (2) outcry,
noise, tumult. The word appearsin "Hermes Bird" (Theatrum, p. 22 i) in sense
(i): "Now y tel the with melde Stevyn, / Thys myghty grace cam owte fro
Hevyn"; but neither of these meanings applies here, where it seems to be a
synonym for "beams."
3I6 f. Copper (Venus), this stanza says, when purified and impregnated
with the seed of gold (i.e., the Elixir itself, one grain of which tinctures or
transmuteslarge quantities of base metals), will become gold.
321. endeweth ... tissew. I.e., Venus clothes (endues) herself with cloth of
gold (tissue). See textual note; the variant reading would mean that Venus
endowsherself with excellent issue,i.e., offspring in the form of gold.
323. Mercuty. Because small amounts of gold and silver can often be
extracted from quicksilver, it was considered as the "Mother" of metals,
some alchemists believing that these metals were generated spontaneously
within mercury. One of the alchemist's most difficult tasks was to "fix"
mercury,i.e., to congeal or solidify it. Fugitiue,1. 323, thus means volatile.
330. Themoone.The metal silver.
336. A famous saying in alchemy; cf. Norton's Ordinall(EETS ed., p. 82;
Theatrum, p. 89): "Hermesbrought forth a true sentence and blounte, / When
he said Ignis & Azot tibi sufficiunt."Rulandus (Lexicon Alchemiae,p. 66)
explains: "Azoch is our Mercury. It is a double Mercury of the Material
Stone. Therefore they say: Azoch and fire are enough to whiten the Laton
[base metal], and to preparethe whole work."
339-43. The meaning of these lines may be summarized:The metals must
be reduced to Chaos ("first to hell") and then exalted or raised up to a
new existence as perfect gold (" & afterward to heauen"). (Discus here
means "dispel" or "set free.") The operations mentioned in 1.342 are
(i) Solution(Solue):"that the body be turned againe into moistnesse, and his
quicksilverinto his owne naturebe removed again ... the first worke of this
worke is the body reduced into water; that is to Mercury, and that is what
the Philosophers call solution, which is the foundation of the worke"
(quoted in Read, Prelude,p. I37); (z) Separation:an elastic term comprising
such operations as filtration, decantation, and distillation of a liquid from
suspended or dissolved matter; see Read, p. I38; (3) Sublimation (also called
"exaltation" or "elevation"): the vaporization of a solid without fusion,
followed by condensation of the vapor in the solid form upon a cool surface;
defined by Geber as "the elevation of a dry thing by fire, with adherencyto
its vessel" (Read, The Alhemeistin Life, Literature,andArt [London, 1947],
p. 94); (4) Fixation: making a fugitive or volatile thing non-volatile and
thus able to abide the fire; (5) Congelation(also coagulation): the final
crystallizationor solidification of the material.

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54 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
There are many variations on the number and order of the operations of
the Great Work. Ripley gives twelve, Norton fourteen, and Paracelsus
seven (see Read, Prelude, pp. I36-7 et infra). Blomfild himself describes
several additional processes in the "Practica." C. H. Josten ("William
Backhouse of Swallowfield," Ambix, IV [ 9491 I3-I4) adds a useful caveat:
"the reader may be reminded that the different phases of the work, explained
here as consecutive developments, were not in actual fact supposed to mean
consecutive stages, but different and possibly simultaneous aspects of only
one operation. William Backhouse's [mid-seventeenth-century] translation
of Synesius's Le Vraye Livre de la Pierre Philosophalein MS Ashmole 58 ...
expresses this very clearly:'. . . and note that to disolue, to calsine, to teigne,
to whiten, to renewe, to bathe, to wash, to coagulate, to imbibe, to dococte,
to fixe, to grinde, to drie, & distill, are one and the same thinge and thay
signifie nothinge else but that thou must dococte the natures till thay bee
perfecte."'
344-50. This stanza warns against the crude physical processes of the false
alchemists or multipliers. The true alchemist strives to imitate nature, as
well as to understand her through philosophical speculation.
356. A secret. In general, a thing's occult property, the power it has which
must be extracted or manipulated by a skilled alchemist; specifically, the
quintessence which resides in all things.
359-64. Blomfild makes clear his divine election and initiation into
alchemical secrets. He assumes in the traditional manner that there is no
danger in putting these divine secrets into writing, because the vulgar will
not understand them anyway.
36I. acquited. To be set free from a duty, obligation, or burden.
374. indigestaque muoles.See Metamorphoses I, 5-9: "a rough, unordered
mass of things." Ovid's account of Chaos and creation had long been used
by Christians to supplement Genesis, and some alchemists referred to
Lactantius' phrase, "a chao quod est rudis inordinataeque materiae confusa
congeries" (Opera, I, I4, zo; quoted in C. G. Jung, Pgychologyand Alchemy,
znd ed., tr. R. F. C. Hull [Princeton, I968], p. 144, n. 59). Albertus Magnus
quotes the passage from the Metamorphosescited above in his Metaphysica
(I, v, 3), and Roger Bacon attempted to bridge the gap between Chaos as a
theoretical and a real substance. For a survey of some medieval versions of
the Chaos, see Brian Stock, Myth and Sciencein the Twelfth Century:A Study of
BernardSilvester(Princeton, 1972), pp. 72-3, n. I7, etpassim. The theological
implications of a pre-existing Chaos were felt into the seventeenth century;
see Kocher, Scienceand Religion, pp. I47 if.
Hermetists like Ashmole would relate Blomfild's Chaos both to Genesis
and to the Corpus Hermeticum. The second Hermetic treatise, e.g., has this
explicit reference: " There was a darkness in the deep and water without form;

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 55
and there was a subtle breath, intelligent, which permeated the things in
Chaos with divine power" (trans. W. Scott, I, I47).
376. Which.The antecedentseems to be the " diuers natures,"or qualities,
resting within the Chaos, which the alchemist wishes to draw out.
contrarie.Just as Galenic physicians believed diseases must be expelled
by their contraries,various "qualities" can be extractedfrom the Chaos by
their opposites; e.g., cold drives out hot. See WalterPagel, Paracelsus(Basel
and New York, I958), p. 243.
379 ff. Dimencions three. The term "dimension" is used in an Aristotelian
sense (cf. De caelo,I, i) by Roger Bacon in his version of the SecretaSecretorum:
"Out of the universal soul (universaliter anima)God brought into being a
third essence named Matter (hyle). Matter, on receiving dimensions, i.e.,
length (longitudinem), breadth (latitudinem)and thickness (profunditatem),
became pure body. Then this body adopted a sphericalform, which is the
best of all forms, and greatest in space and continuation. Out of this
sphericalform then were createdthe heavens, planets, and all other ethereal
bodies, the purest of them [the primummobile]being first, and the coarsest
[the earth] the last" (tr. Robert Steele in Operahactenusinedita,Fasc. V
[Oxford, 1920], p. 228).
The three dimensions of matter, in Blomfild's exact terms, are found in
Joannes Augustinus Pantheus' Ars Transmutationis Metallicae(Venice, I 5 19),
ff. z3r-23v, but Blomfild'simmediatesource was probablyRipley's Compound,
which has severalreferencesto the sametriad(Theatrum, pp. 137, I86-8). The
most likely meaning which Blomfild attachedto his three dimensions is that
of "body, soul, and spirit." Though popularizedby Paracelsusas counter-
parts to his tria prima of mercury, sulphur, and salt, these terms were well-
known to medieval alchemists (see Read, Prelude,pp. 26-7; and Pagel,
Paracelsus, passim). Norton (Ordinall,EETS ed., pp. 74-5; Theatrum,p. 82)
develops the analogy between the body, soul, and spirit of all matterand the
three "souls" or spirits thought to reside in man-the vital, natural, and
animal. A marginal note in Ashmole's interleaved copy of the Theatrum
reads: "Altitude is the body / latitude the spirit / and profundity is the soul"
(MS Ashmole 972, f. 2o8r; the secret script in which Ashmole wrote the note
was kindly decipheredfor me by Dr. C. H. Josten).
386-92. The Chaos contains all qualities and potentially all beings. The
referencesto "vine tree," "beest, fowle, & fish," and the various metals are
intended to representthe vegetable, animal,and mineralrealms,respectively;
see 1. 414.
Another term for the quintessence; see Bookof
399. oyle... incombustible.
QuinteEssence,p. io, for this usage.
404. In thisfaire treeXVfruites are. See textual note and 11.232-3. This
philosopher's tree is undoubtedly based on the tree diagrams found in

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56 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
genuine works by Ramon Lull and in alchemical texts ascribed to him. An
excellent illustration of an alchemical arborphilosophais reproduced in F. A.
Yates, "Ramon Lull and John Scotus Erigena," JWCI, XXIII (I960), plate 4.
For the significance of the many tree diagrams in Lull's authentic works, see
Yates, "The Art of Ramon Lull," JWCI, XVII (I954), I I5-73, and plates 9,
I5, i6, i8. We can only lament that the illustrations of the Philosopher's
Tree which appeared in some of the MSS have perished, especially since
Blomfild attached so much importance to the " true figure of the tree " (1. 409),
which he apparently intended to be drawn in the text (H: "heere the Philo-
sophicall tree was paynted in the fyrst coppie "; A4: " here should be the tre ";
and S6 has, opposite this stanza, one-third of the page left blank for an
illustration).
The number fifteen has no traditional significance in alchemy, but there is
a treatise on fifteen stars, fifteen stones, fifteen herbs, and fifteen images to be
engraved on the stones, which is ascribed to Hermes; see the edition by
Louis de Latte in Bibliothequede la Faculti dephilosophieet lettres de l'universiti de
Liege-Paris (Paris, I 942), 23 5-89. John Gower's ConfessioAmantis mentions
fifteen stars, as does Agrippa (De occ. phil., I, 33), but they remain a puzzle.
405. gold in thy stomacke to digest. For a discussion of aurumpotabile, see
Paracelsus, Works, tr. A. E. Waite (London, I894), I, I47-8; T. P. Sherlock,
"The Chemical Works of Paracelsus, " Ambix, III (I948), 35 ff.
417. For nature with nature ioyeth & maketh true game. One of the oldest
maxims in alchemy, probably deriving from the saying of pseudo-Democritus:
" The nature, in such a case, is charmed by the nature: in such a case, triumphs
over it; in such a case, dominates it" (see H. J. Sheppard, "The Redemption
Theme and Hellenistic Alchemy," Ambix, VII [I959], 43-4). Similar para-
phrases are found in Ripley's Com.pound(Theatrum,I I2, I30). The point is
that the true alchemist acts in accordance with the processes of nature, which
he alone understands.
422. Then knowestthou thyforme. The form of a substance (see stanza 62) is
its specific organizing principle, its particular essence which is imposed on
matter.
423-7. The body, soul, and spirit of the Stone must be extracted from
Chaos.
428-31. Blomfild seems to hold this view of transmutation: "the indivi-
dual subjects of the species [of metals] cannot be changed one into another,
unless-as follows from the sayings of Aristotle-they be first reduced to
their prima materia and thus changed to a form different from the one they
had before" (C. H. Josten, "The Text of John Dastin's Letter to Pope
John XXII," Ambix, IV [I949], 47-8).
433. calcinate. Calcinated: heated or pulverized through deprivation of the
humidity which consolidates its parts (Read, Prelude, pp. 50, 138). This

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 TheNobleScienceof Alchemy 57
process is most commonly given as the first of the many operations needed
to create the Stone, with solution (1. 434) frequently following it (these are
the first two "gates" in Ripley's Compound).
434. euacuate. Evacuated: cleansed of all impurities.
435-41. We have finally reached the point of the real beginning of the
work: the Philosopher's Mercury, or " true " prime matter, has been achieved.
440. exuberate. See 1. 267, n.
442. Sulphur of nature. I.e., "sophic" sulphur, the companion of "sophic"
mercury. See Introduction.
449. oile incombustible. See 1. 399, n.
451. Incerate. To cover with wax, or to make a substance soft like moist
wax.
456. Decoction. Boiling or digesting; see 1. 405 and the "Practica" for the
continued comparison of the alchemical work to the digestion of the
stomach.
458. induracion.Hardening (too much heat would dry out the substance).
vitrification. Conversion into glass or a glassy substance because of excessive
heat.
462. basilicke & cockatrise. The words are synonymous. "The Chemical
Philosophers have sometimes given this name [Basilisk] to their Mercury,
because it dissolves everything. Some understand it to refer to the Stone
at the White Stage, others to the Stone at the Red Stage, because just as the
ancients said that the basilisk slew by the mere glance of its eye all those upon
whom it fell, so also the powder of projection made of the stone at the white
or the red stage, and projected upon Mercuryor other metals, kills them, so
to speak, by fixing them (as the eye of the basilisk killed also by fixing its
victims) and transmutes them into silver or gold" (Rulandus, Lexicon
Alhemeiae,pp. 340-I).
467. limbeckewith a beacke. Strictly speaking, the alembic or upper part of
a still, or still-head; here, a complete still, consisting of a cucurbit, or
gourd-shaped vessel in which the matter to be distilled is placed, and the
still-head or alembic proper which is placed on top of this. The beak of the
alembic conveys the products to a receiver. For a full discussion and illus-
trations of various apparatuses, see R.B. Pilcher, "Boyle's Laboratory,"
Ambix, II (I93 8), i 8.
469. blindhead. A head for the still without a beak, which therefore
keeps the product circulating inside the vessel, "for solucions."
483. testament& last will. It was common for the adept to leave as a legacy
the secrets of alchemy he had mastered; this is probably also an allusion to
Lully's Testamentum (see Introduction).
484 ff. The moral uprightness of the adept was a sinequanonfor success
in the opus.

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58 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
514 ff. red man & the white woman. The alchemical marriage is a common
metaphor. It probably signifies the combining of the "red" and "'white"
stones, the two perfected substances (sometimes called elixirs) which
represent the philosopher's mercury and sulphur. See Read, Prelude, pp.
I02 f. and the corresponding passage in Norton's Ordinall, Theatrump. 90,
and EETS edition, pp. lix-lx, 8z-3. The alchemical marriage is sometimes
represented as the marriage of Sol and Luna, or of the "seeds" of these two
highest metals, or of the masculine and feminine elements, for the creation
of the Stone; see C. G. Jung, MysteriumConiunctionis,tr. R. F. C. Hull (New
York, I963), pp. I47, 230, etpassim.
517. Diptatyue. Composed of two members (?); triptative appears in
Ripley's Compound,but neither is in the OED.
520. Dragon. Heat, the means by which the bodies are reduced to powder.
524. firy dragonfell. Probably the fluid menstruum, the necessary agent for
unifying sophic mercury and sulphur (see Read, The Alchemist in Life, pp.
I7-I8).
527. bed of glas. This description of the alchemical vessel continues the
sexual symbolism of conjunction.
529. threenatures. The new body, soul, and spirit of the completed Stone.
534. dragon. The mercurial spirit, the volatile part of the substance which
has not yet been fully incorporated into it; cf. the "fixing" of mercury,
above.
541. athanor.The digestive furnace which maintained a constant, low heat
(from the Arabic, attannur, furnace).
542. philosopher's Dunghill. Usually this meant the equi clibanum, which
derived its warmth from horse manure (fimus equinus)and was employed for a
steady, gentle heat without fire-similar to the modern hay-box (Pilcher,
"Boyle's Laboratory," p. zo). Blomfild seems to use the term as a synonym
for athanor, since he explains what kind of fuel to use in it.
545. segges. Any of various coarse, grassy, rush-like or flag-like plants
growing in wet places.
548. Forty Dayes. A common period of operation in alchemical texts,
undoubtedly sanctified by Biblical precedent; but contrast 1. 460. For
differing accounts of alchemical time, see Rulandus, p. 430.
549-50. blacke . . . putrifaction. The "dead" metal is about to be revived.
The color sequence which begins here is standard in most medieval
accounts, but it goes back to Greek alchemy.
554 ff. Comparable descriptions ofthe final stages ofthe work are common;
for a strikingly similar one, see C. A. Burland, Arts of the Alchemists (London,
I967), p. I77.
557. our infante's organisacion. Continuing the biological metaphor,
Blomfild compares the maturing Stone to the infant in the womb, a common-
place in alchemy.

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 TheNoble Scienceof Alchemy 59
570. spare the
firsentation. I.e., do not yet use the Stone to transmute
("make thy proiection," 1. 574) ordinarymercuryuntil it is stronger. "Elixir
is the Arabic name and fermentumis the Latin: because, just as bread is
leavened and raised through good yeast, so the matter of metals may be
transmuted through mercury, because it is the source and origin of all
metals" (Pseudo-Albertus Magnus, Libellusde Alchimia,tr. Sister Virginia
Heines[Berkeley,I9 8], p. I9).

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 APPENDIX

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 to "Blomfild'sBlossoms"
"The Conclusion" from the editionin Elias
Ashmole'sTheatrumChemicumBritannicum,p. 323.

Our Magisteryis Three,Two,and One:

The Animall, Vegitableand MinerallStone.
First I say in the name of the holy Trinity,
Looke that thou joyne in One, Persons Three.
The Fixt, the Variableand the Fugitive, 5
Till they together tast Death and Live.
The first is the Dragonfell,
That shall the other twaine both slay and quell:
The Sunand Mooneshall loose their light,
And in mourning Sablesthey shall them dight, IO
Threescoredayes long or neere thereabouts:
Then shall Phoebusappearefirst out,
With strange Collours in all the Firmament,
Then our Joy is coming and at hand present:
Then Orient Phoebusin his hemisphere I5
To us full gloriously shall appeare:
Thus who can worke wisely
Shall attaineunto our Maistery.

63

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 The Overthrow of the Gout
by ChristophorusBallista
translatedby B. G., I577

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 II

INTRODUCTION

Christophorus Ballista is the Latinized name of Christophe Arbaleste,

a little-known figure from the early days of the Reformation in France
and Switzerland. Born in Paris, he became both monk and physician,
but at the beginning of the Reformation he left the Church and went to
live at Strasbourg, where he knew Martin Bucer and Wolfgang Capito.
He was practicing medicine at this time, and in I 5 28 he treated Philip
of Platea, Bishop of Sion, Switzerland; the Bishop was apparently
suffering from the gout, for Ballista wrote two poems on that disease,
both of which refer to him. Ballista soon moved to Zurich, for also in
1528 he approached Guillaume Farel, another Protestant Reformer,
who advised him to dedicate himself to the ministry. Ballista was at this
time impoverished, and in the same year he appealed to Zwingli for aid,
saying that he would prefer the study of science; in fact, he was sent to
preach at Chessel. Although he was a pleasing preacher, Ballista was
apparently not a very reliable champion of the Reform, for in both
1528 and I 529 he threatened to put on his monk's robes again, and he
did not enjoy the confidence of Farel.'
Nothing else of his fortunes is known, except that he published in a
small octavo volume two Latin poems on the gout, Christophori
Ballistae .. . In podagram concertatio and Dialogus inter Podagram et
ChristophorumBallistam; no date or place appears in the first edition,
but bibliographers conjecture that it was printed in Zurich, perhaps in
1 525 or I 528, the latterdate being more likely in light of the references
to Philip of Platea. A second edition of these poems appeared in
Michael Toxites' anthology, De podagrae laudibus doctorum hominum
lusus (Strasbourg, I570), where they were thought to be worthy
companions of the comic Tragodopodagraattributed to Lucian and the
67

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68 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
witty encomium of the gout by the leading German humanist, Willibald
Pirckheimer.2
The text given here, The Overthrowof the Gout, is an Elizabethan verse
translation by one B. G. of Ballista's first poem, Inpodagramconcertatio.
It is in 344 lines of " fourteeners " and deals with the causes, treatment,
and prevention of the gout. The author assumes a mock-heroic stance
in the martial way he addresses gout as a "beast" and "monster" and
selects his " darts " and other weapons with which to defeat it. The tone
is frequently humorous, as the poet selects historical and mythological
anecdotes to enliven what is essentially a versified compilation of
recipes for this malady. The shorter poem which Ballista appended to
the Overthrowis, in B. G.'s translation, The Dialoguebetwixt the Gout and
Cri. Balista, in 66 lines of "fourteeners." The Dialogue, which is not
included here, records the defeated gout's lament, which begins,

Alas poor wretch alas, which way

now shall I turn my sight;
whil as so great a storme of darts
doo ful vpon me light?
O haplesse wretch whome lewd aspects,
of hateful starres haue torne:
Accursed be the lothsome day:
That euer I was borne. (Sig. C5v)

This poem is not scientific, but moral, for the conquering Ballista now
commands the defeated disease to leave the "good Sedunian Bishop"
and all other virtuous men, henceforth to attack the feet of only the
wicked. In fact, the gout is made an ally of the moralizing poet, and
she is enlisted to punish not only gluttons (who, scientifically at least,
bring the disease upon themselves) but also lechers, murderers, and even
those of rank who are neglectful of their charges-evil princes and
pastors.
While most of the medical poems before the Renaissance were
general compendia of remedies, especially of herbal ones-like the
most important medieval medical poem, the Regimen Sanitatis Saler-
nitanUM3-poems on specific ailments also have a long history. Nicander
of Colophon (second century B.C.) wrote, among others, a hexameter
Theriaca,on snake bites, poisons, and their cures; and from the Middle
Ages we have Latin poems on the pulse and urology by Gilles of
Corbeil (c. II40-I224). The most notable Renaissancepoem on a

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 of the qout
TheOverthrow 69
single disease is probably Girolamo Fracastoro's Syphilissive Morbus
Gallicus(I 5 30), which not only lists causes, symptoms, and remedies,
but also presents a mythological narrative explaining the origin of the
malady. While I have found only one antecedent Latin poem on the
gout, that by the late fourteenth-century Englishman, John Mirfield,4
at least one Middle English gout poem pre-dates Ballista's. This short
piece is a versification of a very popular treatment for the disease,
found in many prose collections:

If a man be bawllyn in qwhat place it be

Of swellyng or gout or hoder prevete,
Take rosemary & blak wolle & make a platour
and bolle it in welle water & loke that it be cler,
and let it on the bollyng, tho it be never so gret,
All the venym is in, it hym don hout swet.5

Almost a century after B. G.'s translation of Ballista, the subject

again appears in English verse, this time in a collection of medical
poems by a Welsh vicar who was probably also a practicing physician,
Rowland Watkyns. The gout poem from his Looking-Glassefor the
Sick (I662) shows that little change had been made in diagnosis or cure:

Surfet and Drunkenness breeds this foul disease,

And use of women doth the same increase,
Long standing brings it too: and boystrous wayes
Of too much exercise, and youthful playes.
This doth great pains to joynts, and swellings bring,
In time of harvest chiefly, and the Spring.

Some Plantain leaves beingplaistred withfresh greace,

Bring down the swollengout, and grief appease,
Figs, honey,bread, and also mustard-seed
With vinegar compounded,helpyour need:
Pitch, Salt Armoniack mingle well, and stamp,
'Tis excellent good to cure a grievous cramp.6

The actual disease which these gout poets were seeking to ease is
now known to be a form of arthritis, caused by deposits of uric acid
in the joints. It was described in antiquity by Hippocrates (fl. c. 450 B.C.),
Celsus (A.D. 14-37), Aretaeus (fl. c. A.D. I75), Pliny and Galen (second
century A.D.), but the term gout, or podagra,was variously applied. In
the Middle Ages it was used to indicate virtually any rheumatic disorder,

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70 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
and the discovery that an excess of uric acid in the blood caused the
formationof painful nodules in the joints was not made until the late
eighteenth century.7 The chief source of the medicallore of Ballista's
Overthrow of the Gout,directly or indirectly, is the Natural Historyof
Pliny the Elder. Moreover, most of the narrative and illustrative
materialis Pliny's as well. One of the main disadvantagesof Pliny's
massive encyclopediafor the Renaissancescholar was its diffuseness;
for example,Pliny does have a separatesection on the gout (XXVI,
I00-103), but he also sprinklesthroughouthis manybooksreferences
to its treatment, as he makes his own compilations from various
sources on plants, animals, fishes, minerals. If Ballista compiled his
own materialfrom Pliny, he combed through the NaturalHistorywith
great determination; if he relied on an intermediarytext, it was
thorough and accurate.8
A second majorsource for Ballista was probablythe Greek Materia
Medicaof Dioscorides Pedanius (first century A.D.). Like Pliny's
NaturalHistory,this text (in Latin translation)was availablein printed
editions by the fourth quarterof the ffteenth century, and it was of
seminalimportancefor Renaissancemedicine and botany. The notes
to our poem indicate many corresponding passages in Ballista and
Dioscorides, and the Elizabethantranslatorincludes a direct reference
to the famous Renaissanceedition and commentaryby Mattioli in the
marginal note to line 77. But perhaps the most striking similarity
between Dioscorides and Ballistalies in the structureof both works.
Unlike many medieval herbals and bestiaries which merely listed
alphabeticallyplants or animals,Dioscorides presentsa systematicand
minute description of remedies from each of the major kingdoms.
Book I deals with aromatics,oils, ointments, and trees; Book II with
living creatures,milk and dairy produce, cereals, and sharp herbs;
Book III with roots, juices, herbs; Book IV with herbs and roots;
Book V with vines, wines, and metallic ores.9 While Ballista'spoem
does not conformexactlyto this division, one can see by the following
analysis of the English translationthat our Renaissancecompiler has
made a conscious effort to structurehis work according to similar
principles of organization:

(i) Lines 1-76: Introduction, invocation, and general characteristicsof the gout;
an outline of the major "weapons" to be used against this "hellish sprite."
(z) Lines 77-142: Herbs and other plants for treatment of the gout.

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 TheOverthrow
of the Gout 7I
(3) Lines 143-68: Metals and minerals useful in the treatment of the disease,
specifically the rust of iron and salt.
(4) Lines i69-78: Remedies from three kinds of stones.
(5) Lines I79-256: Treatments derived from "Beasts and Birds."
(6) Lines 257-308: Dietary advice to avoid the gout.
(7) Lines 309-44: General advice on exercise and regimen to maintain good health;
conclusion.

Despite this underlying structure, coherence within these divisions

is sometimes lacking. In the first section, for example, the invocation
to "O sweet Redeemer of the World" is followed four lines later by the
poet's conjuring Bishop Philip "by all the Gods abooue that be"
(11. I 3, 17). Similarly, while the introduction of anecdote and fable helps
relieve the monotony of the longer passages which are really little more
than versified lists of remedies, these anecdotes are often abruptly insert-
ed and just as abruptly broken off. Nevertheless, as a serious medical
treatise, the Overthrowwas meant to be used, and most certainly was
used, as a compendium of treatments for a disease that was quite
common in Renaissance Europe.
The dedication of the English translation to the Queen's physician
Dr. Richard Masters indicates both the medical and literary intentions
of the translator, B. G. The original poem, he says, was dedicated to a
"great Phisitian in Fraunce," and coming into his hands "by Fortune
(beeing as I think not any where els to be had)," he decided to English
it "for the benefit of diuers my freends troubled with that disease, and
partely for mine own recreation, that was somthing delighted with the
writer." Of course B. G. must explain modestly that the "verse in
Latin is not very eloquent, and therefore no mervail though the trans-
lation be rude and vnpleasant." "But sure his [Ballista's] Method
and order is not in mine oppinion to be dissalowed, but rather much to
be commended." 10
The modest and concerned B. G. who wrote these words and
translated Ballista is almost certainly the prolific writer of eclogues,
sonnets, and translations, Barnabe Googe (I1 40-I 594). Professor
Brooke Peirce has shown that another medical work translated by
B. G. ten years later is also dedicated to his "especiall good friendes
M. D. Maister, and M. D. Baylie, Doctors in Physicke attendant vpon
her Maiestie," and that the dedication is dated I4 August 1587 at
Alvingham, Googe's Lincolnshire birthplace. Peirce concludes that
both this work and the translated gout poems are by Googe, who

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72 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
probablyspent his lateryearsat his native Alvingham." New evidence
of a probablepersonalcontactbetweenGooge and one of his dedicatees
supports this conclusion. Richard Master (d. 1588) was indeed
physicianto the Queen, but he also on at least three differentoccasions
over a periodof eleven yearsgave medicaladviceto WilliamCecil,Lord
Burghley.I2Cecilwas a kinsmanof BarnabeGooge who took a special
interestin his affairs,siding with him in a disputeover his marriageand
securingfor him governmentservice(DNB, VIII, I 51-2). It is likely
that Googe knew Master, and possibly Baylie, too, through his
importantand solicitousrelativeat court.
We may add also Googe's interestin scientificmatters. Among his
many authenticatedtranslationsare a verse rendering of Marcellus
Palingenius' long and highly influential ZodiacusVitae and a prose
version of Conrad Heresbach'sFour Bookesof Husbandrie.13 Finally,
the "fourteeners" into which Ballista's poems are translated are
characteristic of Googe's philosophical and scientific verse. His
authorshipof these renderings,then, seems virtuallybeyond doubt.
As in all the scientific poems presented here, some attempt at
literaryrefinementand ornamenthas been made, both in the original
and in the translation,but the main concern is the convenient trans-
mission of importantinformationin a form which was both pleasant
and easy to assimilate. Thus B. G.'s dedicationapproves of Ballista's
"Method and order" and notes that he himself was "somthing
delighted with the writer," even though the "Latin is not very
eloquent." The use of rhyme and especially of couplets in English
didactic poetry ordinarilyenhancesthe mnemonic effect, and B. G.'s
choice of verse form for the Overthrow was probablymore effective for
his original audience than it is for us. The "fourteener"-an
iambic line of seven metrical feet-was popular with writers like
Googe and George Turberville. The length of the line frequently
requiredit to be brokento accommodateprintingpracticeof the period,
althoughlatereditions of the ZodiakeofLife preservethe long lines and
thus show that this was not always necessary.14 At any rate, the
Overthrow follows this practice and divides the lines after the fourth
foot; the result is a long poem in what looks like little ballad stanzas
(four lines rhyming abcb, with alternating lines of four and three
metricalfeet). Modernreaderswill perhapsbe aidedby the removalin
this edition of excessive punctuation, which tended to make almost
every line end-stopped.

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 TheOverthrow
of the Gout 73
Text and Editorial Procedure

The text of the Overthrow

is essentially that of the only edition of
I 577, the British Library copy of which appears to be unique.,5 Except
for the expansions of a few abbreviations (ye becomes the,etc.) and of
to to too(lines 4I, 52, 201, 264) and a few other instances indicated in
the notes, original spelling has been preserved. Punctuation is editorial,
and lineation follows the original. As textual notes are very few, they
have been incorporated into the commentary. The latter glosses
archaic or difficult words, identifies plants, stones, and other sub-
stances, and cites source passages in Pliny, Dioscorides, and other
relevant authors.i6 The two main discussions of the gout from Pliny
and Celsus are added as appendices, to supplement the references to
particular remedies and treatments which are dispersed throughout
the notes.

Notes
IThis account is based on the only significant biographical notice of Ballista,
J. Balteau, " ChristopheArbalest," DictionnairedeBiographie Franfaise,ed. J. Balteau
et al. (Paris, I939), III, 238.
2 This latter, Apologia seu lauspodagre,was first published in Nuremberg, 1522;

it was translated into English by William Est in I6I 7 as ThePraiseof the Gout(STC
I9947). For the date of the first edition of Ballista's poem, see British Library
catalogue and Balteau, ibid.
3 Among the many studies of the Salernitanschool and its medical poems, two are
especially helpful: RegimenSanitatisSalernitanum, ed. Sir Alexander Croke (Oxford,
I830); and Brian Lawn, The SalernitanQuestions(Oxford, I963). For several
Renaissance English translations of the Regimen,see my "English Scientific Poetry
1500-I700. ..," PBSA, LXIX (I975), 490, 499. I have included in the notes to
Ballista's poem several illustrative stanzas from Sir John Harington's verse transla-
tion of the Regimen.
4 Or Marfelde; see the edition and translation in Johannesde Mirfield of St.
Bartholomew's, Smithfield:His Life and Works,ed. Sir Percival Horton-Smith Hartley
(Cambridge, England, I936).
5 Quoted in C. H. Talbot, Medicinein MedievalEngland(London, I967), p. I9I.
6 The Looking-Glasse is included in Watkyns's FlammasineFumo:or, Poemswithout
Fictions,I662, from which I quote. A critical edition of the entire volume has been
prepared by Paul C. Davies (Cardiff,I968), whose introduction provides the most

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74 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
complete account of Watkyns. A comparison of this short gout poem with Ballista's
and with his sources will show the traditional nature of the remedies offered here.
Watkyns's younger contemporary, Dr. Thomas Sydenham, a victim of gout for
thirty-four years, provided a classic description of the disease which is still cited in
medical writing: Tractatus de Podagra et Hydrope, I683.
7 Erwin H. Ackerknecht, M.D., History and Geography of the Most Important
Diseases (New York, I965), pp. I74-5. W. G. Spencer suggests that the terms
podagra and cheiragra, as found in Celsus, Pliny, and Galen, also had less specific
applications, and that in fact they may have been used to describe a kind of lead
poisoning with symptoms like those of the gout (Loeb ed. of Celsus, I, 464-5).
8 One of Pliny's important sources was the De Medicina of Celsus; Ballista does
not appear to have consulted directly any of the Renaissance editions available,
but the notes on the poem indicate some information he may have acquired from
Celsus at second hand. We should note, too, that Rufus of Ephesus (fl. A.D. 98- 1I7),
an important source for Renaissance medicine, wrote a separate treatise on the gout,
but the editio princeps of the Greek text did not appear until 1544.
9 Because Books III and IV constitute well over half the length of the work,
Dioscorides is usually considered to be primarily a herbalist. Hence the title of the
edition I have used throughout, which I cite by Book, Chapter, and page: The
Greek Herbal of Dioscorides(from the interlinear translation of John Goodyear, I 6 5 ),
ed. Robert T. Gunther (1934; rpt. New York, 1959).
10 The Overthrowof the Gout, sigs. A2r-A2v. B. G. adds that he has "noted" his
author in several places; hence the marginal notes which refer explicitly to English
plants or places.
"I The work, in prose, is The wonderfulland strange effect and vertues of a new terra
sigillata; quoted in Peirce's unpublished dissertation, "Barnabe Googe: Poet and
Translator" (Harvard Univ., I954), p. I55. This study provides useful analyses of
selected corresponding passages from the Latin and English versions (pp. I 54-72).
12 See B.L. MSS Lansdowne I9, art 83; Lansdowne 46, art 38; and Lansdowne 121,
art I9. The known years of Master's attendance on Cecil are 1 574 and 1585.
13 For Googe's abilities as a translator, see the introduction by Rosemund Tuve

to the facs. rpt. of the 1576 ed. of The Zodiake of Life (New York, I 947), and Peirce's
dissertation. Googe's lyric poetry is well discussed in the introduction to Selected
Poems of Barnabe Googe, ed. Alan Stephens (Denver, I96 i). The forthcoming study
of William E. Sheidley for the Twayne English Authors Series will offer a compre-
hensive view of Googe. I am indebted to Professor Sheidley for bringing to my
attention Peirce's study and for sharing some of his own earlier work: "The
Poetry of Barnabe Googe and George Turbervile: A Study," unpublished disserta-
tion (Stanford Univ., I968).
14 Some scholars argue that purposeful breaking of the lines at the caesura benefits

the rhythm. These points are summarized by Sheidley, pp. 11-14.

IS The Overthrow of the Gout, Written in Latin verse, by Doctor Christopher Balista.
Imprinted at London by Abraham Veale dwelling in Paules Church yard at ye signe
of ye Lamb. I577 (B.L. Press Mark C.54.g.15; in the forthcoming Vol. I of STC,
rev. ed., the number for this previously unlisted entry will be I312.5).
I6 All references to Pliny and Celsus are to the Loeb editions, by book and
paragraph number.

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 The Overthrow of the Gout

Against the Goute with al her force

my minde desires to goe
And with a valiaunt hand to sling
my dartsat this my foe.
Longe time this beast hath now presumed
her wicked force to bend
Against that good olde man, that doth
the Sedunflock defend.
Diseased sore he lies and able
not to stirrea limme; 5
So hath the wretche benomd his Ioints
and so hath plagued him,
That still he is inforste to keep his house,
as doth the Snaill:
O pitious hap and great mischaunce,
that each man ought to waill.
It greeues me to the hart to se
the torments that he beares;
Her crueltie Constraynethme
to staine my cheekes with teares. IO
My sorowes doth commaundthe doutfull hap
of Marsto trye:
Why stand I stile? I will assayle
the monster presentlye.
Drawe neere, 0 sweet Redeemerof
the World before vndoone;
Of that moste glorious maiestie,
the true and only sonne.
Vouchsafe to giue thy speeding darts
in this my quarreliust, I5
And cause that I with them may throwe
this monster in the dust.
75

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76 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
And thou, 0 noble Phillip, by all
the Gods abooue that be,
I thee require to showe thy self
a man in eche degree.
Hope wel, for hope auaileth much
In driuing greef away;
I dout no whit, but shortly thou
shalt see a fairer day. 20
More hapeneth in an houre somtime,
then in a thousand yeer,
And many great commodities
in smallest time appeer.
I trust to driue the Gout vnto
the lothsome pit of hel,
And that thou shalt, good Phillip, haue
thy feet again ful wel.
Doo you no more but bear in minde
two woords that I shall say, 25
I
And these my lessons that giue
doo cary wel away.
The suttle shackles that this Beast
dooth binde the feet withall
Podagranall the learnd of Greece
haue euer vsde to call.
Hence sprang at first the hateful name
of this so painful greef,
That suddainly the feet vnwares
assaileth like a theef. 30
At first it rageth in the ioynts
and then assaults the toes;
And straight from thence with hastie course
vnto the heel it goes.
And somtimes to the huckle bones,
where as it swelles and showes
With pain, while as abundance great
of humors thether flowes;

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 TheOverthrow of the Gout 77
Somtime the Cod beside, that bothe
the stones incloseth round, 35
Dooth swel withall, and hanging lowe
it oftentimes is found.
The causerof this great disease,
not euermoreis one.
Oft times the parentsare the cause
it falles the Childe vpon,
When as the seed but feeble is,
wherof the flute is wrought;
For since the root such weakenes hath,
the plant must needs be nought. 40
Besides, too vehement exercise
the Gout dooth often breed;
Of seruicelong in Venus'court
it likewise dooth proceed.
The very frame of all the limmes
is shaken with this game:
Eche Sinow eke enfeebled is
by vsing of the same.
And Bacchus, thou that wunted art
the spirits to reuiue, 45
Doost vse to hurt the feet of such
as in thy seruice striue.
Of Martiallacts in stately stile
did Enniusalwaies write,
And in his cups did blase the deeds
of many a worthy knight.
Yet of the Gout at last he dyed,
nor could his verses saue
(With all the sweetnes that they had)
their maisterfrom the graue. 50
Great hurt, beside, vnto the ioynts
dooth euermorearise
Of colde, excessiue Idlenes,
and too much exercise.

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78 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
The hart with fury once inflamde
dooth kindle presently
And fireth all the humors straight
that in the body lye.
Wherby, vnbrideled all, they rome
and raunge in euery place, 55
And paining all the Senous sore,
they vex in pitious case.
Oft times of thick and clammy fleume
this vile disease dooth breed;
Somtime again, of both the sortes
of Choler dooth proceed.
And tomuch blood, while as it dooth
the tender ioynts oppresse,
Is many times the onely cause
of this vnquietnes. 6o
Moste greeu'd with this disease are men,
the women not so much:
The cause is plain and euident,
who listeth it to touch.
One reason is because that heat
in man dooth more exceede,
Which causeth that the humors pearse
the senowes more with speed.
Moste subiect to the gout are those
that greatest age haue seene, 65
And such as with some sicknes great
haue long tormented beene.
And cares of minde and sorowes great
doo breed this greeuous sore,
And want of wunted exercise,
as hath been said before.
Let this suffise to showe the spring
of such a hellish sprite:
Now time it is my weapons for
to showe and fall to fight. 70

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 TheOverthrow of the Gout 79
And first I wil begin with herb,
with Iuyce, and mettals bright;
And then of stones that serue the turn
I craue the aid and might.
Then Beasts and Birds I set in rank,
and cause them to restore
The weake and wearish limmes of those
that lamed were before.
And last of all my Tables doo
I spred with meat and Wine, 75
And there the perfect diat for
this sicknes doo assigne.

Not our com- First, Toutsane, vnto thee I giue

mon Toutsane the cheefest place before,
but Dioscorides That doost deriue thy worthy name
his Panacxra: of healing euery sore.
reedMathiolus. Thou beaten small and mingled wel
with reasons good and sweet,
In plaistermade, applyed wel,
doost heal the feeble feet. 8o
Mary Goldes. An herb there is that in the Sun
dooth woundrously delight,
And after him dooth euermore
direct her course aright;
That when he once begins to rise
dooth spred and open wide,
And mourning hangeth down her hed
when Westwardshe dooth slide.
This medled wel with sewet of
a Gote dooth driue away 85
The Gout; the like dooth Balme stamped,
if to the feet you lay.
And Veruen sod in water dooth
the feet from sicknes saue,

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8o ThreeRenaissance ScientificPoems
Which herb the noble Romans wont
in great account to haue.
The alter fair of Iupiter
with this they vsde to sweep,
And therwith euery corner of
their houses sprinkleddeep. go
Beside, the Heraldwhen he gaue
defianceto his foe
Commaundedwas with Garlandall
of Veruen clad to go.
Coleworts in this disease are good,
beeing sodden specially;
The broth wherof refuse not thou
to drink for remedy.
Put Colianderto the Cole,
and Salt and Rewe beside, 95
And flower fine of Barley,that
by grinding small is tride.
A Pultise made of these, if to
the aking ioynts ye lay,
It greatly dooth the paines asswage
and driues the Gout away.
And if the Gout be such as in
his rage it dooth not swel,
The Radish root wil help, if that
in Wine you seeth it wel. 100
The noble Radish that our fathers
olde did greatlylooue,
And did indeed the same esteeme
all other meats abooue:
At Delphuswas it then decreed,
it should be grau'd in Golde,
The Beet in siluer to be framde,
the Raapein leaden moulde.
This to the Gout is to be laid:
the luce of Woodbinde thick, I05

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 TheOverthrow of the Jout 8i
And mingle therewithallthe meal
or Flower of Fenugrick.
And Nettel rootes wel brused in
the strongest Vinager,
The leaf & the The leaues beside beeing pouned with
seedewith the tallowe of a Bear.
Bere'sgreace. And stinking Assafatida,
in spunges wel applyde,
Wil likewise help the greeuous Gout
and Feuer sore beside, II0

If therunto you put the Wax

that is from Cipressebrought,
And see that with the suet of
a Gote it wel be wrought.
Plantainbeeing pouned wel with salt,
Papmade and Lens with Polent good;
with Barly The water Betany, besides
Hemp roots and Sothernwood;
The Iuyce of Henbane mixt with meal
that from the Mil dooth flye; II 5
And wax, with Gum Armoniack
in equall quantitie.
And boyled wel in Vinagre,
the brauncheof Poplar small,
With Herb that beareshis name of Age,
that Grounsil we doo call:
To this it needful is to put
the greace of fatted Bore,
And mingle wax with Willowe leaues,
that wel haue sod before. i2o
Phicusmarina: An Herb there is that in the Sea
Seaweed. dooth alwaies winde about,
Which (if it be not ouer dry)
wil heale the painful Gout.
Who would beleeue that heaps of Corne
should driue the Gout away

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82 ScientificPoems
ThreeRenaissance
And bring the feeble foot his force,
to stand without a stay?
Sextus As Sextus, searching of the Barnes,
Pompeius was taken with the Gout, I25
He laid him down in heaps of Wheat,
that closde him rownd about.
When suddainly he felt him self
aswel as any man,
And rysing vp with ioyful hart
to walke about began.
For all the humor out was drawen
and dryed by this releef,
That was the hed, the fountain, and
the cause of all this greef. 130
For such a force is in the Wheat,
as that it hath been seen
The vessels fiul in shortest time
to drawe and dry vp clene.
To Elder leaues the Sewet of
a Gote put orderly;
This laid vnto the feet wil be
a present remedy.
Houseleek Forget not that same herb beside,
that green dooth alwaies growe; I3 5
It healeth those same angry Goutes
that red and fiery showe.
The Gourd that groweth wilde his rine
is thought to doo the same,
Which also helps the hed that dooth
with fiery humors flame.
The wylde The like, beeing sod in Vinagre,
Cocumber. the Cocumber wil doo;
Sea Colwort: So wil the Cole, the surging Seas
it groweth that groweth neer vnto. 140
vnder the And Purslain pounded wel with Salt
Clyfts besydes dooth heal this painful rage,

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 TheOverthrow of the Gout 83
Seafordein And likewise dooth the fiery heat
Sussex of shingles soon asswage.

Tis very straungethat rust of Iron,

wil heale the greeuous Gout;
The wound beside with Lancel made,
wil let the poyson out.
When Telephus with staf of fierce
Achilleswoundedwas, 145
And neuer a Surgion there aboute
could bring the cure to passe,
They took advisementof their Gods.
Apollo answeredthus:
"Achilles'Swoord" (quoth he) "shall saue
the life of Telaphus."
With ioyful mind went Telephus
to meet his enemy,
Who striking gaue him with his wound
a present remedy. I50
The treacle good beside, that cures
the deadly poyson strong,
Is souerainto be vsde against
the Gout retainedlong.
What should I heer of Salt intreate?
Nature that all things spun
Creatednothing needful more
for man then Salt and sun.
With salt we sauour all our meat
and doo preserueour food; I5 5
Take Salt away, our banket'slost,
A Bag of no Viands seemeth good.
Saltbeaten Salt maketh strong and lustie Ioynts;
smalwet in example good may be
boylingwine The tough and sturdy limmes of horne
andlaydto in Fishers that we see.

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84 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
the feet: Salt with his fretting force dooth enter,
Or salt very pearce, and thorow spring;
fine beaten Dissolueth, eateth, burneth vp
with Oyl of and fineth euery thing. i6o
Camomilmade With Hony, Oile, and meal beeing mixt
inan Ointment, and beaten as it ought,
It maketh good the feet again
that feeble were and nought.
And if you list my poore aduise
in this disease to take,
Go get you to the Sea and bathe
your feet when they doo ake.
'Tis good in Brimstone bathes somtime
to wash your self beside, I65
Which wil refresh your crased limmes
and stop a stormy tide.
Take water with Salt Peeter mixt
and Brimstone, let them boil:
And wash your legges; or if you list,
with Lees of sodden Oyle.

And now for stones, let three suffise:

the let is one of those
From whence a stinking sulphur aire
ascendeth to the nose, I70
The smel wherof doo Serpents shun;
wher with what soeuer you write
In brittel vessel made of Earth,
wil neuer out of sight:
Lay this vnto your Gout. The stone
that Iron vp dooth take
Dooth tame this mad vnruly beast
and quickly out dooth shake.
Beat small a Medstone, mix it with
the Milk of such a wight I75

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 TheOverthrow of the Gout 85
As at her first deliuerybrings
a pretie Boy to light.
This wil asswage the Gout, if that
you lay it therunto,
And bring the Senowes to their force
to doo as they should doo.

You worthy creaturesthat haue life,

with haste your selues addresse,
And let me haue your helping hands
in this my busines. i8o
The bones of man, to ashes burnt
and made in pouder fine,
Beeing drunk, is not of little force
against this foe of mine.
And woman's milk, if that you ioyne
the Humlock therwithall,
Applyed to the feet dooth heale
the raging torments all.
Put Goosegrece heerunto and ad
green Isop to the same; I85
Opium: Or Opiumwherwithallyou may
the Iuyceor a parfect medicine frame.
Gumof black With grece of swine ioyne woman's heare,
Poppey. and this shall doo you good,
Beeing laid vnto the aking feet
that rage with angry mood.
Refuse not thou to bath thy feet
with Vrin of a man,
Prouided that the party be
as helthyas ye can. I90
The right foot of an Egle to
your right foot look you lay,
And to your left leg lay the left,
to driue the gout away.

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86 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Somtime again with Horseleaches
beset your feet about,
That Blood suckers are termed of
the rude and common rout.
These neuer wil forsake the legges,
wherto they cleaue and pul I95
(So great desire they haue to blood),
til all their skin be fiul.
But all the vilest humors that
they in those partes doo finde,
Which were the causers of this greef,
they drink with greedy minde.
And when they once haue fild them selues
as ful as they may be,
They leaue the place and fall away,
as beasts that drunken be. 200
But if they chaunce to cleue too fast
and wil not leaue their holde,
Then sprinkle beaten Salt theron,
burnt wul or ashes colde.
It holsom is beside to open in
thy feet some bleeding vain,
Wherby the humor passeth out
that breedeth all thy pain.
An aged Cock wel stewed in broth,
beeing drunk, dooth pleasure great 205
In filling all the ioints and limmes
with sweet and plesant heat.
The milk of Asses drunck dooth heale
the gout with raging mood;
So dooth the flesh therof, if that
you vse it for your food.
The Owle that hath a body fat
you seeth in water shall,
And often eat the tender flesh
and drink the broth withall. 2I0

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 TheOverthrow of the Gout 87
The Grece of Swine, with Ashes mixt
of dung that Gotes doo make,
Gotesdung Is very souerain,if therwith
mingledwith you noynt the feet that ake.
Barlyflower 0 worthy Greace of Swine, that doost
andVinagre, deserue so great a praise,
a good Pultis. What good vnto the ioynts of man
thou bringest sundry waies!
So is the root When as the limmes and membersall
of marsh with colde congealed be, 2I5
malowes Their naturallheat again and warmth
mingledwith they straight receiue from thee.
Duck'sgreace, Thou supplest stifned partes, and such
for olde as weake and feebled be
swellinggoutes Restorste to helth, and sores doost heale
that lothsome are to see.
Thou driu'st the Gout from hand and foot;
what should I vtter more?
In few woords wil I speake at once:
thou healesteuerysore. 220
Such force to thee the helthfil roots
of noble herbes doo giue,
Wherwith the wandring herds of Swine
in pleasantpastureshlue.
The Romains, that by valure all
the world did once subdue,
Had thee in honor great for this
thy vertues that they knew.
With thee the gladsome Bride, when as
the house she enter should 225
Of her new mariedmate, the posts
and thresholdescouer would.
Heerof the wife first took her name,
becausein times before
The charge to her committed was
of noynting of the doore.

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88 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
For they supposde this Grease would put
all troubles vnto flight,
And that for euer after no
misfortune enter might. 230
But to my Gout again. The Dung
of Kites and ashes fine
Of Snailes and Wesel burned bothe
wil heale this Gout of thine.
Let Legges that thus diseased be
be bath'd with Wesel's blood;
The Sewet likewise of a Calf,
for this is very good.
To this may also added be
the flesh of fearful Deer; 23 5
And there withall the Broth wherin
the Hare hath boyled cleere.
A Fox fleaed With case of craftie Fox let all
cut in small thy foot wel wrapped be;
Gobbits destil- And for to noint them with the Greace
led wt Oile of of Reynard helpeth thee.
Camomil,oile And good it is in skinnes of Dogs
of Rew,,oile of
t epadwa hmwl
wormes, of eche okepadwpthm el
iounes, And with the greace of them to noint
iiounces,a
quantitieof the painful feet that swel. 240
Aqua vite: Moreouer, take a Crowe and quick
A good water put him in Horsedung deep,
to noint the And close him so that he may haue
ioynts. no place away to creep.
When foure dayes once be ful expirde,
go take him from his graue,
And burn him straight; then mingle Wax
with the Ashes that you haue.
This laid vnto the feet dooth driue
this monster quite away, 245
And makes the poore diseased man
to go without a stay.

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 TheOverthrow of the Gout 89
And Iunoe'sbird, the Peacock, helps
if that his dung you take
And plaisterwiseapply it to
the lamed limmes that ake.
Annoint thy feet with drippingshot
of greasy rosted Cat,
And take the Beauer'sstones beside,
and mingle wel with that. 250
To Ashes burn the Mullet's hed,
that in the sea dooth swim;
With pleasantHonye mingle it,
and noint thy crasedlim.
Go take the craukingFrog, and with
thy knife go quarterout
His membersal, and lay his feet
vnto the painfiulGout
So that the right doo touch the right
and that the left doo lye 25 5
Vpon the left: so shalt thou finde
a present remedy.

But leauing now these creaturesheer,

though many more there be
Of like effect(for who can write
of all in eche degree?),
I wil thee straightwayes showe how thou
thy table shalt prepare,
And in what sorte for thine auail
thou shalt appoint thy fare. z6o
Great Gluttony and surfetting
the limmes dooth quickly lame,
And therforewould I soberly
thy diet thou shouldst frame.
First see thy bread be baked wel
that thou at Table hast:

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go ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
And neither black nor yet too white,
but pleasant in the taste.
All trifles banish from thy boord,
and meal with honye made: z65
As Custards, Pyes and Florentines,
and other of this trade.
All Salt and slimy meats, and flesh
that long dooth poudred lye,
And fish in Salt preserude: all such
I warne thee for to flye.
Bothe Garlick, Rue and Onions soure
expel them far from thee,
Although the fond Egiptians doo
suppose them Gods to be. 27o
Abstain from Pepper, Raapes & Grapes
that in the spring time be,
From Apples, Peares, and such like frute
as winter giueth thee.
Nor suffer thou the deadly Beanes
to come vpon thy boord,
Which once the wise Pithagoras
condemned by his woord.
With this the holy Preests durst neuer
deale in all their rites: 275
It longeth vnto Goblins and
to black and fearful sprights.
It dooth the sence and wit of man
bothe dul and dampish make,
And rayseth in the night such dreames
as makes the hart to quake.
Bothe Peason, Nuts and Chesnuts grose
despise thou in this case,
And take thou heed that at thy boord
no Cheese haue any place. 280
Let these suffise for food: the Hen
and Chanticlere the bolde,

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 TheOverthrow of the Gout 9I
The Wether and the lustie Steere,
who neuer yet was colde;
The Cunny, Hare, the Partridge,and
the Egge that's rosted rere,
And all the smallest Birds beside
that tender limmes doo beare.
Such Fishes small I like, as in
the running Riuers fleet; 285
And such as haue no scales, for to
refuse I think it meet.
The Lampernsshun, that licking of
the rock was wunt to lye,
And therwithallthe Crab,that sidling
seekes her self to wry.
Let not the Eele thy Table touch;
a clamy humor stil
Dooth from this fish proceed, that
the ioints of man dooth fil. 290
The Lampreylong agone was had
in estimation great,
And taken for his daintie taste
to be a Prince's meat.
Antonia(Drusus'wife) was wunt
the Lampreyfor to feed
And set her out with rings of golde,
the fartherto exceed.
A Lamprydead Hortensiusdid
bewaile with many a teare: 295
Such was the fauour of the great
goodwil that he did beare.
But medle not with it, whosoeuer
thou art that hast the gout.
For why? it dooth increasethy paines
and brings thy greef about.
In fewe woords for to make an end
(For woo can all things touch?)

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92 ThreeRenaissance ScientificPoems
In this diseasemuch helthsomer
is flesh, then fish by much. 300
Take for your drink the mildest wine
and cleerestyou can get,
And mingle it with water wel,
the fume away to fet.
What quantitieyou ought to drink
I need not heer define;
Your own discretionheerin best
a measuremay assigne.
But this I onely warn you of:
that when you leaue your meat 305
You leaue with some desire to drink,
and some desire to eat.
Then feed on Colianderseeds,
when thus you wel haue fed,
To make a mery hart and keep
the vapours from the hed.

Giue not thy self to too much sleep,

nor watch not all the night;
And let some distancebe betwixt
thy sleepe and supperlight. 310
Lye not vpon the back, for this
is for the body nought;
But very seldome vse to ride
take neuer any thought.
Somtime it shall be good awhile,
to passe the time away,
To hear the pleasantinstrument
of such as wel can play.
Nothing then Musick more our greef
and sorowes banish can: 3I 5
It glads the minde, and mery minde
dooth make a helthy man.

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 TheOverthrow of the Qout 93
Far from thee look thou euer haue
all grim and sollemne Syers.
All louring lumpish lookes that lothe,
bequeaththem to the Fryers.
Make choyse of such companions as
be wise and sweet withall,
Whose talke delightful is to hear
and voide of any gall; 32o
Whose grauitieis poudred with
an honest, pleasantminde:
Not tedious to the hearer,nor
vain waster of his winde.
Take such into thy company;
eschue the fleering mate,
The flatterer,and such as where
they come doo sowe debate.
Vse alwaes holsome exercise;
thy feet to walke assay: 325
This exercise consumes and wastes
the humors il away.
For long and slothful Idlenes
decayesthe membersall,
And dooth disgracethe body quite
and Causethit to fall.
And like as Iron rusteth straight
with lothsome Cankervile,
If that you sufferit to rest
andvseitnotawhile, 330
So are our bodyes straightdefilde
and vnto mischeef fall,
If that we let them idle be
and woork them not at all.
Beside, a pitious sight it is,
a lamentablecase,
To see the King of Creaturesall
lye lame and not haue grace

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94 ThreeRenaissance ScientificPoems
Nor wil to exercisehim self,
but Idle stil to bee, 335
And through his owne great fault & blame,
to want his libertie.
By little and little try thy strength,
with certainrule and rate,
Which force with labour wil increase,
so it be moderate.
Auoid the aire that flamethstil
with ouerscorchingheat,
And that which ouercolde the membersall
dooth il intreat. 340
If these my rules you doo obserue,
I trust you soon shall see
This cruel raging Gout, as she
deserues,destroyd to bee.
Inough now haue we tryed the feelde,
the Trumpetbids retire:
Heer stands the bownds of mine exployt
and end of my desire.

Soli Deo honoret qioria.

FINIS.

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 Notes
4. good olde man. Philip of Platea, Bishop of Sion, Switzerland, whom
Ballista treated for the gout (cf. Phillip, line I 7).
Sedun. Sion, Switzerland.
xi. doutfullhap. Uncertain chance.
78. Podagran.The gout (Latin,podagra).
33. hucklebones.Hip bones.
35. Cod. Scrotum. stones. testicles.
45-6. Bacchus... striue. "Bacchus, you who are wont to revive the
spirits of man, are nevertheless also wont to hurt the feet of your wor-
shippers." The use of wuntas wontalso appearsin 1. 68.
47. Ennius. Quintus Ennius (d. I69 B.c.), early epic and tragic Latin poet.
54. humors.The four chief bodily fluids, the proper proportion of which
was necessaryfor a person's physicaland mentalhealth. They are referredto
specificallyin the following lines: phlegm (fleume,1. 57), choler or bile, and
black choler (in the text, these are called "both the sortes of Choler," 1. 58),
and blood. Sir John Harington's translationof the RegimenSanitatisSalerni-
tanuni gives a thorough explication of the physical and psychological
qualities and effects of each humor; here are the stanzas dealing with the
physical effects:
If Sanguin humourdo too muchabound,
Thesesigneswill be thereofappearingcheefe,
The facewill swell, the cheeksgrow red & round
Withstaringeies, the pulsebeatsoft and breefe,
The vainesexceed,the belly will be bound,
The Temples,and the fore-headfull of griefe,
Vnquietsleeps,thatso strangedreameswill make
To causeone blushto tell when he doth wake:
Besidesthe moystureof the mouthand spittle,
Will tast too sweet,and seemethe throatto tickle.
If Chollerdo exceed,as maysometime,
youreareswill ring and makeyou to be wakefull,
yourtonguewill seemeall rough,and oftentimes
Causevomits,vnaccustomedand hatefull,
Greatthirst,yourexcrementsarefull of slime,
The stomackesqueamish,sustenanceungratefull,
yourappetitewill seemein noughtdelighting,
yourhartfull greeuedwith continuallbyting,
The pulsebeathardand swift, all hot, extreame,
your spittlesoure,of fire-workeoft your dreame.
95

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96 ThreeRenaissanceScientifc Poems
If Flegmeabundance haue due limits past,
These signes are here set downe wil plainly shew,
The mouth will seeme to you quite out of tast,
And apt with moisture full to ouerflow;
your sides will seeme all sore downe to the wast,
your meat wax loathsome, your disgestion slow,
your head and stomacke both in so ill taking,
One seeming euer griping, tother aking:
With empty vaines, the pulse beat slow and soft,
In sleepe, of Seas and Ryuers dreaming oft.

But if that dangerous humor ouer-raigne,

Of Melancholy, sometime making mad,
These tokens then will be appearing plaine,
The pulse beat hard, the colour darke and bad:
The water thin, a weake fantasticke braine,
False-grounded-ioy, or else perpetuall sad,
Affrighted oftentimes with dreames like visions,
Presenting to the thought ill apparitions,
Of bitter belches from the stomacke comming.
His eare (the left especiall) euer humming.

(The Englishman's Doctor, or the Schooleof Salerne, I607 [STC 2I605], stanzas
I9-2 2.)
6i. men... women. Celsus, De Medicina(IV, 3 i), notes that gout seldom
attacks "eunuchs or boys before coition with women, or women except
those in whom the menses have become suppressed."
68. want of wuntedexercise. Lack of usual (wonted) exercise. But note the
admonition against the excess of certain kinds of exercise in 11.41, 3 I 2.
77. Toutsane. Tutsan, a name applied to various plants because of their
alleged healing virtues; in England it usually refers to a shrubby species of
St. John's-wort. See marginal note, where Mathiolusrefers to Peter Mattioli,
Renaissance editor of the herbal of Dioscorides. The only relevant passage
I find is III, I73 (Goodyear, p. 396).
79. reasons. Raisins.
86. Balme. Probably Balm-Gentle or Balm-Mint (Melissa offeiinalis), or
Bastard Balm (Melittis melyssophyllum),fragrant garden herbs. Dioscorides
says that the leaves, "being smeared on . . assuage ye pains of ye goutie"
(III, i I8; Goodyear trans., p. 348). stamped. crushed.
87. Veruen. Vervain, a common European and British herbaceous plant,
Verbenaof/einalis, formerly much valued for its reputed medical properties.
It was called the "sacred plant" by the Romans, whose medicinal and
ceremonial uses of it are described in Pliny, XXV, io5 if. sod. boiled.

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 of the Gout
TheOverthrow 97
93. Colewarts. Cabbages. The recipe given in 11. 94-8 is Cato's, which
Pliny includes in his long account of the many virtues of the cabbage (XX,
78-96).
95. Coliander. Coriander, an annual plant, Coriandrumsavitum, or its seeds.
Cole. Colewarts, as in 1. 93.
102. meats. Foods generally; see also below, 1. 292.
103. Delphus. Delphi; itl: i.e., the radish.
104. Raape. The common turnip; cf. below, 1. 271. The Greeks' relative
esteem for radish, beet, and turnip is recorded in Pliny, XIX, 86-7.
I05. thick. Thicken.
Io6. Fenugrick. Fenugreek, a leguminous plant cultivated for its seeds,
which are used by farriers.
107. Nettel. Nettle, a plant of the genus Urtica, covered with stinging
hairs. "For affections of the joints and for gout most [authorities] prescribe
application of it [nettle root] with old oil or of the pounded leaves with
bears' grease. The crushed root with vinegar is no less useful for the same
purpose" (Pliny, XXII, 34-5). In another place (XXX, 78) he recommends
mixing nettles with the blood or feathers of pigeons, to be applied to
swollen, gouty feet. The Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum recommends the
frequent eating of nettles for the gout (see Harington's translation, stanza
39).
Io9. Assa ft&tida. Asafcetida, a resinous gum with a strong alliaceous
odor, procured in Central Asia from the Narthex asafietida and allied
umbelliferous plants; used in medicine as an anti-spasmodic.
III. Wax that is from Cipresse brought. Dioscorides says the best wax "is
that which is of a pale yellow, sommewat fatt, & of a sweet sauour, and
hauing ye scent, as it were, of the Hony, yet pure; which by kinde is either
Pontick [from the Black Sea] or Cretick" (II, I05; Goodyear, p. Iz5).
113. Plantain. A plant of the genus Plantago, especially the Greater
Plantain, a low herb with broad flat leaves, spikes of flowers and cylindrical
spikes of seeds. Lens. Softened by steeping in a liquid. Polent. Polenta, a
kind of barley-meal, or a porridge made with parched barley (see marginal
note).
114. Sothernwood. Southernwood, a hardy deciduous shrub or plant,
Artemisia abrotanum,having a fragant aromatic smell and sour taste.
I I6. Gum Armoniack. Gum Ammoniac, i.e., "Gum of Ammon," a bitter
gum-resin of an umbelliferous plant, Dorema ammoniacum.
II8. Grounsil. Grounsel, a common European weed, now given as food
to cage-birds.
I2I. Herb ... Sea. Seaweed, Pliny's "sovereign remedy" for the gout;
see XXVI, I03, and Appendix.
I25. Sextus. This story is told in Pliny, XXII, I20.

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98 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
135. herb. Houseleek or aizoon, a succulent herb, Sempervivum tectorum.
Pliny (XXVI, I02) notes that aizoon is especiallygood for the first onset of
red, or the hot, gout (cf. line 136).
137. rine. Rind.
141. Purslain. Purslane, a low, succulent herb, Portulacaoleracea, used in
salads, as a pot-herb, and in pickling.
142. shingles.An eruptive disease(HerpesZoster) often extending round the
middle of the body like a girdle; usually accompanied by neuralgic pain.
asswage.Text reads assawge.
144. Lancel. This word does not appear in OED, but it seems to be a
variationeither on lanceor on lancet. The context and following mythological
episode support the former.
145-50. Telephbs... Achilles. This story, from Euripides' Telephus, is told
in Pliny, XXV, 42, where Telephus is cured with the rust from Achilles'
sword.
15I. treacle. A traditional salve reputed to cure venomous bites; also
used as an antidote for poisons generally or malignantdiseases.
I58. limmesof horne. I.e., with callouses or tough skin.
I6o. fineth. Refines, purifies.
I68. Lees of soddenOyle. Sediment of boiled oil.
I69. Iet. Dioscorides gives a full description of jet, gagates,including
its sulphurous smell, its ability to drive away serpents, and its being
"mixed with podagricall ... medicines" (V, 146; Goodyear, p. 653). But
again Ballista's source is Pliny (XXXVI, 141-2), who mentions the detail
concerning the indelible marksthat jet makes on earthenware.is. Text reads
as.
173. stone... Iron. Pliny attributes several medicinal properties to the
magnet, but does not mention the gout (XXXVI, 130). Dioscorides also
commends the loadstone's faculty for "drawing out gross humors," but it is
to be drunk with melicrate,a honey and water mixture (V, I48; Goodyear,
p. 653).
174. mad. Text reads made.
175. Medstone.Probably the "Asian stone," Lapis asius,Googe making a
compound from the Latin Media,for Media, a district of Asia. Pliny gives
this account of it: "'Thestone of Assos, which has a salty taste, relieves gout
if the feet are plunged into a vessel hollowed out of it. Moreover, all affec-
tions of the legs are cured in the quarrieswhere it is hewn, whereas in all
mines the legs are attackedby ailments . .. In cases of gout a plasteris made
of [the "efflorescence" or powder of it] with an admixture of bean-meal"
(XXXVI, I 32-3). Dioscorides (V, I 42; Goodyear, p. 6 5 I) has virtually the
same account. See also Appendix I.
Milk. Dioscorides recommendsanointing gouty memberswith woman's
milk and certainherbs, and notes that "the milke of a bitch when shee doth

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 of the Gout
TheOverthrow 99
first whelp" is said to have medicinal uses (II, 78; Goodyear, p. i io). See
also 11.I 83-5.
183-6. woman'smilk... Opium. Cf. Dioscorides (II, 78; Goodyear, p.
i io): Woman's milk "is good for the goutie being anointed on with Mecon-
ium [opium] & Ceratium[carob bean?]."
I85. Goosegrece. Dioscorides (II, 84-95) devotes several chapters to the
preparationand storage of organic fats; Book II, Ch. 86 (Goodyear transla-
tion, p. II4) gives details for the preparationof goose grease, a common
element in medicinal ointments; cf. also 1. I87. Isop. Hyssop, a small bushy
aromatic herb.
I87. greceof swine. Another frequentlyused organic product. Dioscorides
(II, 87; Goodyear, pp. I14-15) instructs on the preparation of the fat of
swine and bears (see also 11. 2 iI ff.); note the earlier references to bear's
tallow (1. I08), the suet of a goat (11. 112, 133), and the "greace of fatted
Bore" (1. I I 9).
193 f. Cf. Pliny's similar account of leeches and their use (XXXII, I23).
2II. dung. Dioscorides devotes a long chapterto the uses of dung (II, 98;
Goodyear, pp. 12Z-3), and he mentions specifically the blending of goat's
dung with swine's grease to aid the gout.
215. Marginal note: marsh malowes. A shrubby herb, Althaea oflcinalis,
which grows near salt marshes;it has ovate leaves, pale rose-colored flowers,
and a mucilaginous root.
224. this. These.
225-8. This custom is recorded in Pliny, XXVIII, 135, 142, although
wolf's fat was also used. The etymology of uxoris dubious, but Ballistamay
be thinking of the similaritybetween this word and unctioor unctus,both of
which mean oil or an anointing with oil.
231. Kites. Birds of prey, usually the common European species Milvus
ictinus.
232. Snailes. Cf. Dioscorides II, iI (Goodyear, p. 95). Wesel. The ashes
of the weasel are useful for the gout, says Dioscorides (II, 27; Goodyear,
p. IOO).
236. cleare. Either an adjective meaning "pure" and modifying Broth;
or possibly an adverb modifying boyled,meaning "completely."
237. case. Carcass or skin.
247. Peacock. Text reads Peocock.
250. Beauer's stones. Thought by Pliny to be useful for many diseases,
including "cramps, sinew pains, sciatica"(XXXII, 26-3 i). Dioscorides also
recommends Kastorisorchis,but not specificallyfor gout (II, 26; Goodyear,
P. 99).
251. Mullet's hed. Head of a fish, either the red or grey mullet. When
reduced to ash, it has many medicinal uses, says Pliny (XXXII, 44, 70, 104),
but he does not mention the gout.

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IOO ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
762. frame. Shape, direct, control.
266. Florentines. A kind of pie or tart, especially a meat pie.
267. poudred. Seasoned, especially with salt to preserve meat.
270. fondEgipztians. "In Egypt people swear by garlic and onions as deities
in taking an oath" (Pliny, XIX, ioi).
274. Pithagoras. The famous prohibition of beans was included in the
gnomic gymbolaattributed to Pythagoras. For a discussion of Renaissance
interpretations-both literal and allegorical-see S. K. Heninger, Jr.,
Touchesof Sweet Harmony: PythagoreanCosmologyand RenaissancePoetics (San
Marino, California, I974), pp. 272-7, where a variety of explicidy medical
views of this dietary advice is given.
279. Peason. Peas.
282. Wlether. A male sheep or ram, especially a castrated ram.
283. Cunny. Cony, rabbit.
285. fleet. Swim.
287. Lamperns. River lampreys. licking. Lapping (?), liking(?).
288. wry. Cover, conceal.
29I. agone. Ago.
293. Antonia, Drusus. Nero Claudius Drusus, second son of the Emperor
Nero, married Antonia, younger daughter of M. Antonius and Octavia.
Pliny (IX, I72) tells how Antonia's affection for a favorite lamprey led her
to adorn it with earrings.
294. to exceed. To be pre-eminent (?).
295. Hortensius. It was at the estate of Hortensius the pleader that Antonia's
decoration of the lamprey took place; Pliny (IX, 172) also tells how Hor-
tensius wept at the demise of his beloved lamprey.
298. For why. Forwhy, why.
302. fume. A noxious vapor or exhalation supposed to rise to the brain
from the stomach as a result of drinking too much wine. fet. Fetch, take
away.
307. Colianderseeds. See line 95, note.
309 ff. Some similar general rules for sleep and exercise are found in the
first three stanzas of Harington's Schooleof Salerne:
The SalerneSchooledoth by these lines impart,
All health to EnglandsKing,and doth aduise
From care his head to keepe, from wrath his hart.
Drinke not much wine, sup light, and soone arise,
When meat is gone long sitting breedeth smart:
And after noone still waking keepe your eies,
When mou'd you find your selfe to Natures Need
Forbeare them not, for that much danger breeds,
Vse three Physitians still, first Doctor_Quiet,
Next Doctor Mery-man,and Doctor Dyet.

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 TheOverthrow
of the qout IOI
Rise early in the morne, and straight remember
With water cold to wash your hands and Eyes,
In gentle fashion retching euery member,
And to refresh your braine when as you rise,
In heat, in cold, in Iuly, and December,
Both comb your head, & rub your teeth likewise:
If bled you haue, keep coole, if bath'd keep warm,
If din'd, to stand or walke will do no harme.
3 things preserue ye sight, Glasse,Grasse,& Fountains
At Eue'n springs, at morning visit mountaines.

If R: be in the month, their iudgements erre,

That thinke that sleepe in afternoone is good,
If R: be not therein, some men there are,
That thinke a little nap breeds no ill blood,
But if you shall heerein exceed too farre,
It hurts your health, it cannot be withstood:
Long sleep at afternoones by stirring fumes,
Breeds SlowtbandAgewes,Aking heade&Rheums
Themoysturebredin Breast,in Iawes,and Nose,
All caldCatarrsor Tysique,or the Pose.
(The Englishman'sDoctor, stanzas I-3.)
312. seldomevse to ride. In his discussion of rheumatic diseases, including
the gout, Celsus (De Medicina, IV, 3 I) points out that "Riding on horseback
is harmful for those with podagra."
317. Syers. Sighers.
321. poudred. Seasoned.
323. fleering. Jibing, sneering, ridiculing.
338. force. Physical strength.
340. Lineation given as in original text.

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 APPENDICES

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 I
Celsus, De Medicina,IV, 3 I-2

31. Joint troubles in the hands and feet are very frequent and
persistent, such as occur in cases of podagra and cheiragra. These
seldom attack eunuchs or boys before coition with a woman, or
women except those in whom the menses have become suppressed.
Upon the commencement of pain blood should be let; for when this is
carried out at once in the first stages it ensures health, often for a year,
sometimes for always. Some also, when they have washed themselves
out by drinking asses' milk, evade this disease in perpetuity; some have
obtained lifelong security by refraining from wine, mead and venery
for a whole year; indeed this course should be adopted especially after
the primary attack, even although it has subsided. But if the malady has
already become established, it may be possible to act with more
freedom in those seasons in which the pain tends to remit; but he
should adopt more careful treatment at those times in which it recurs,
which is generally in spring or autumn. Now when the pain requires
it, in the morning the patient should be rocked; then carried to a
promenade; there he should move about, and in the case of podagra he
should take short turns at sitting down and walking about: next before
taking food and without entering the bath itself, but in a hot room, he
should be gently rubbed, sweated, and then douched with lukewarm
water: the food following should be of the middle class; diuretics are
given with it, and an emetic whenever he is of a fuller habit. When the
pain is very severe, it makes a difference whether there is an absence of
swelling, or a swelling with heat, or swellings which are already
hardened. For if there is no swelling, hot foments are needed. Either
sea-water, or strong brine should be heated, then poured into a vessel;
and as soon as he can bear it, the man puts his feet in, over the vessel is
spread a cloak, and over him a blanket; after that hot water is poured
over the lip of the vessel, a little at a time, to prevent the contents from
losing heat: and then at night heating plasters are applied, especially
mallow root boiled in wine. But if there is swelling and heat, refriger-
ants are more useful, and the joints may be rightly held in very cold
I05

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io6 TbreeRenaissanceScientificPoemns
water, but not every day, nor for long, lest the sinews become hardened.
There is to be applied also a cooling plaster; this, however, is not to be
kept on for long, but a change made to those which soothe as well as
repress. If pain is greater, rind of poppy-heads is to be boiled in wine,
and mixed with wax-salve made up with rose oil; or wax and lard,
equal parts, are melted together, and then the wine mixed with these;
and as soon as this application becomes hot, it is to be removed and
another immediately put on. But if the swellings have grown hard
and are painful, the application of a sponge frequently squeezed out of
oil and vinegar, or out of cold water, or the application of pitch, wax
and alum, equal parts mixed, gives relief. There are also several
emollients suitable alike for the hands and feet. But if the pain does
not allow of anything being put on, when there is no swelling, the joint
should be fomented with a sponge which has been dipped in a warm
decoction of poppy-head rind, or of wild cucumber root, next the
joints are smeared with saffron, poppy-juice and ewe's milk. But if
there is a swelling, this ought to be bathed with a tepid decoction of
mastic or some other repressant vervain, and then covered with a
medicament composed of bitter almonds pounded up in vinegar, or of
white lead, to which has been added the juice of pounded pellitory. The
stone, too [which corrodes flesh], which the Greeks call sarcophagos,
is carved out so as to admit the feet; when these are painful, they are
inserted and held there, and are usually relieved. In Asia Minor Asian
limestone is held in esteem for this purpose. When pain and inflamma-
tion have subsided, which should happen within forty days, unless the
patient is in fault, gentle exercise, spare diet, soothing anointings, are
to be employed, provided that also then the joints may be rubbed
with an anodyne salve or with a liquid wax-salve of cyprus oil. But
riding on horseback is harmful for those with podagra.

(Loeb ed., trans. W. G. Spencer, I, 4S S-6i)

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 II

Pliny, NaturalisHistoria,XXVI, 100-103

Gout was a rarer disease within the memory, not only of our fathers
and grandfathers, but also of our own generation. It is also itself a
foreign complaint; had it existed in Italy in early times it would have
received a Latin name. It must not be considered incurable, for many
cases have been cured without treatment, and yet more with it. Useful
remedies are roots of panaces with raisins, juice of henbane with meal,
or the seed of henbane, scordion in vinegar, hiberis as already pre-
scribed, vervain beaten up with axle-grease, and the root of cyclamen,
a decoction of which is also good for chilblains. Cooling applications
for gouty pains are made from xiphion root, psyllion seed, hemlock
with litharge or axle-grease, and aizoiim for the first onset of red, that
is hot, gout. Good for either kind however is erigeron with axle-grease,
plantain leaves beaten up with a little salt added, and argemonia
pounded with honey. Vervain too may be applied as a remedy-or the
feet may be soaked in the water in which it has been boiled-or the
lappago that is like anagallis, but more branchy and leafy, and with a
strong smell. This kind of plant is called mollugo; like it, but with
rougher leaves, is asperugo. The juice of the former is taken daily, the
dose being one denarius by weight in two cyathi of wine.
The sovereign remedy, however, for this complaint is pbycos thalas-
sion, or seaweed, which is like lettuce, and is used as a ground-colour
for the purple of the murex; it is sovereign, not for gout only, but for
all diseases of the joints, if applied before it becomes dry. There are
moreover three kinds of it: one is broad, the second is rather long and
inclining to red, and the third, which has curly leaves, is used in Crete
to dye cloth. They have all the same medicinal uses.

(Loeb ed., trans. W. H. S. Jones, VII, 34I-3)

107

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 II

George Buchanan's De Sphaera,

Book I:
An Early Seventeenth-Century
Verse Translation

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 III

INTRODUCTION

Tutor of princes and kings, political theorist, historian, reformer,

and poet, the Scottish humanist George Buchanan (i5o6-i58z) was a
figure of international repute in his own day. English humanists
praised his Jephthes,which of "all moderne Tragedies is able to abide
the touch of Aristotle's precepts and Euripedes's examples," I and his
masterpiece, a Latin verse translation of the Psalms, received the general
admiration of his contemporaries.2 But if learned Europe acknow-
ledged him as the greatest Latin poet of the age, this distinction has
not rescued some of his works from near oblivion in later times. The
De Sphaera,an astronomical poem of some 2 500 lines, was for Buchanan
one of his most important works; moreover, it exerted considerable
influence on subsequent Neo-Latin and vernacular astronomical poems.
And yet the De Sphaera has been the subject of only a single mono-
graph, and that privately printed.3 The present verse translation of the
first book of this seminal work will perhaps stimulate interest in the
tradition of Neo-Latin didactic poetry out of which Buchanan's poem
comes. More particularly, it bears witness that the De Sphaera was
being studied closely in Jacobean times, even though it was not pub-
lished in England until i686, and it provides an illustration of the kind
of astronomical poetry that was being composed in the English
Renaissance.
The chief scientific and historical interest of the De Sphaeralies in its
attempt to refute the heliocentric theories of Copernicus and his
followers and to reassert the traditional Ptolemaic world view.
Copernicus' De Revolutionibusfirst appeared in I543, but it became
known only slowly. By I555 Buchanan had begun his poem, and
during the nearly thirty years he spent composing and revising it he kept
abreast of new astronomical discoveries and theories. These are
III

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I I2 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
reflectedin the work, as he marshalsthe ancientauthorities-Aristotle,
Cleomedes,Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy-to defend against Tycho Brahe
and the Copernicans.4Book I, the part that concerns us here, deals
mainly with logical and mechanicalargumentsfor the earth's fixity
and centrality,and with the history of these ideas. Book II argues for
the sphericityof the entireuniverseand reassertsthe geocentricscheme
of things; it also attacks the theories of tne Epicureans, considers
explanationsfor the movement of the planets,and discussesthe nature
of the quintessence. In the third book, Buchanandescribesthe sky,
the Zodiac, the horizon, the Milky Way, and the zones of the earth.
The unfinishedfourth book was to deal with technicalmatterssuch as
the path of the planets and stars, and the incomplete final book, after
condemningastrologyand eulogizing true science,turns to the subject
of eclipses, presented through the personaof Sulpicius Gallus, who
representsthe empiricalseeker of truth.
Although the literaryancestryof Buchanan'spoem is as old as its
cosmology, the more immediatestimulusfor the De Sphaerawas the re-
discovery of the cosmological and astronomicalpoems of Lucretius
and Manilius in the early fifteenth century. Neo-Latin poets soon
began to take up these subjects, and Naiden lists over a dozen sub-
stantial Neo-Latin astronomical poems from 1450 to the time of
Buchanan's composition of the De Sphaera. Most of these were
conscious imitations of not only the subject but also the style of
Lucretius and Manilius, as well as other classical poets, especially
Virgil and Ovid. Buchanan, then, was writing in a well-established and
vital literary tradition.5
The immediate audience for the De Sphaera was Timoleon, son of the
marehal de CosseBrissac, to whom Buchanan was appointed tutor
around I 554. Timoleon is addressed in four of the five books, and the
poem was at least in part a pedagogical tool.6 Nevertheless, a wider
audience was certainly intended as well, and the work was eagerly read,
copied, and translated by European humanists. The first printed
version (Geneva, is84) comprised only the first 3IO lines of Book I.
The manuscript of this fragmentary text was owned by the English
humanist, Daniel Rogers, a frequent correspondent of Buchanan's
and a friend of Sir Philip Sidney's.7 The first complete edition of the
De Sphaera appeared in 1586, four years after the poet's death, and
twenty-five editions up to 172 5 are known; but the poem also circulated
widely in manuscript.8 As early as 1 5 74 or 1 5 7 5 Jan van Hout, a friend

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 De Sphaera,Book I II3
of Rogers,acquireda manuscriptcopy fromwhichhe madea Dutch
translation,now lost; this was aboutten yearsbeforethe firstfrag-
mentaryedition appeared,and at a time when severalContinental
scholarsandpublishersin vainaskedBuchanan for a copyof the work.9
The Frenchscholar,Jean-Edouard Du Monin,was able to securea
manuscriptfrom a young Scotsman,AlexanderLevinstone,and in
1583 he publishedhis own vernacular astronomicalpoem, L'Urano-
logieou le Ciel,the appendixto which containsa descriptionof the
manuscript, whichis no longerextant.L'Uranologie is itself,to a degree
at least,a paraphrase of Buchanan's poem.'0
TheseDutch andFrenchadaptations of the De Sphaera suggestnot
onlythatnon-Latinists wishedto readBuchanan's poem,but alsothat
therewas a generalinterestin vernacularscientificpoetry. Composi-
tions of this kindwerecertainlyplentifulin Renaissance France,," and
one purposeof this collectionof Englishscientificpoemshas beento
drawattentionto thethrivingtraditionof didacticpoetrywhichtill now
has gone virtuallyunnoticed.The presentJacobeanrenderingof the
De Sphaera is of specialinterest,however,becauseit is the firstEnglish
translationof the poem. It was thoughtby Dwight Durlingto be a
late seventeenth-century effort,I2but the manuscript text is in an early
seventeenth-century hand. Neitherthis versionnor the fragmentary
translationby CharlesCotton(I689; see below)was knownto Naiden,
the chiefmodernauthorityon the Latintext. He believedin I952 that,
asidefrom Du Monin'sFrenchparaphrase, his prose renderingwas
the firsttranslationinto anylanguage.'3
Littleis knownof ourJacobeantranslator, who in the manuscript is
calledI. C. or Ia. Co.;buthe is almostcertainlythe JamesCobbeswho
made translationsand wrote two English plays, one of which was
producedat the Globearoundi623.I4 We have no way of knowing
which edition(or possibly,manuscript)of the De Sphaera I. C. used
for his translation,thoughwe do know thathe possessedmorethan
Book I, the only parthe completed,I5 andthatat leastfive editionsof
the poem had appearedby i6oo. Naiden providesa list of variae
lectionesfromthe earlyeditions,anda comparisonof thesewith I.C.'s
text suggeststhe likelihoodthathe usedthe editionof AndrewHart,
Georgii Buchanani Scoti,Poemata Omnia(Edinburgh,i 6I 5). But because
most of the variantreadingsare poetic refinementsthat cannotbe
detectedin a translation, this mustremaina conjecture.Almostevery
successiveedition of the poem was basedon new manuscriptsand

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II4 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
included new readings, and Buchanan's habit of continually revising
his poems and of disseminating them in manuscript, while in various
stages of composition, has made it almost impossible to establish a
critical text.'6 In editing this translation of Book I, I have consulted
Naiden's prose translation and his list of variants; for the Latin text I
have turned to Thomas Ruddiman's edition of I 71 5, the latest scholarly
edition.I7
The quality of I. C.'s translation varies widely. He sometimes
founders in the more technical passages (where the obscurity of Bucha-
nan's own text is occasionally at fault), and his verse is generally inferior
to the fine Latinity of his humanist master. Especially lacking is a firm
control over the metrics of the English pentameter line, though some
passages-e.g., the humorous reductioad absurdumof lines 329-84-
show that I. C. can be a capable versifier. Assuming, as the state of the
manuscript suggests, that our copy text is in the author's hand, one can
see from the number of marginal notes, consisting of both alternate
renderings and explanatory glosses, that a good deal of time was spent
in the translation. Some of the marginalia manifest a scholarly interest
in the scientific and philosophical issues raised in the poem, and the
stylistic alterations bespeak careful revision. For Buchanan's 68z lines
of Latin verse (I7I 5 ed.), I. C. requires only 662 of English. Although
he sometimes condenses a passage, he usually adheres rather closely to
the original, preserving at times a Latin word order which requires a
second reading to decipher. A comparison may be made with the
brief (36 lines) "Essay upon Buchanan's First Book" by Charles
Cotton, published posthumously in I689, just three years after the
first London edition of the Latin De Sphaera. Cotton's rendering,
which comes at a time of renewed interest in classical scientific poetry
(the first English translations of Manilius and Lucretius were made
about then), is the only other known attempt to put Buchanan's poem
into English verse. It is therefore included here as an appendix.

Text and Editorial Procedure

The copy text, which is unique, appears in British Library MS

Harley 4628, ff. 283-293v. Original spelling has been preserved, except
that scribal abbreviations have been silently expanded. Capitalization
of initial words and usually of words which begin a sentence in the

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 De Sphaera,Book I I I5
middle of a line is editorial;other capitalsaregiven as they appearin the
manuscript. Though based on that in the manuscript,punctuationis
largelyeditorial,the aim being to clarifyas muchas possible the meaning
of difficultconstructions or subject matter. The textual notes record
any furtheralterations. All textual variantsare from the unique copy
(those in the margin of the manuscriptare keyed to the text by crosses
or asterisks). Although a numberof annotationsare also found in the
margin of the manuscript,these, where legible, have been given in the
explanatory notes. The editor has supplied additional annotations
where necessaryto renderthe first book accessibleto modern readers.
Those desiring a full analysisof the Latin poem as a whole or further
informationon its sourcesand backgroundsshould, of course, consult
Naiden's authoritativestudy and McFarlane'smore recent work.
Paragraphingof the text is based on the 17I5 edition. Head notes
to each major section (adapted from Naiden) both indicate the
corresponding lines in the Latin text and provide useful landmarks
for the reader.

Notes
IFrancis Meres, Palladis Tamia (I598), in G. Gregory Smith, ed., EliZabethan
CriticalEssays(Oxford, 1904), II, 322. Meres is repeating Roger Ascham's comment
in TheScholemaster (I 570) almost verbatim (ed. Smith, I, 24). Sir Philip Sidney, who
knew and corresponded with Buchanan, also commends his tragedies (Apologyfor
Poetry,ed. Smith, i, 20I).
2A readily accessible English example is Gabriel Harvey, FovreLettersandCertaine
Sonnets(I 592), ed. Smith, II, 234. See also Henry Peacham, "Of Poetrie," from Tbe
Compleat Gentleman (i622), ed. J. E. Spingarn, CriticalEssays of the Seveneenth Century
(1907; rpt. Bloomington, I957), I, i29; and I. D. McFarlane, "Notes on the
Composition and Reception of George Buchanan's Psalm Paraphrases," in
RenaissanceStudies:Six Essays, ed. I. D. McFarlane et al. (Edinburgh & London,
1972), pp. 2I-62.
3 James R. Naiden, TheSpheraof George Buchanan (I06-IJ82), A LiteraryOpponent
of Copernicusand TychoBrahe(Philadelphia, 95z2). This is a condensed version of a
Columbia University dissertation; it includes bibliographical and historical infor-
mation as well as a prose translation of the entire poem. See pp. i6-I7 for the
astronomical poems which were indebted to the De Sphaera. An earlier source of
historical and biographical information, invaluable for Buchanan studies, is George
Buchanan:GlasgowQuatercentenary Studies(Glasgow, 1907); a recent textual study is
I. D. McFarlane, "George Buchanan's Latin Poems from Script to Print," The

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I i6 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Library, 5th ser., XXIV (Dec. I969), 277-332; a full-length study of Buchanan by
McFarlane is forthcoming.
4 For examples of contemporary scientific issues in the De Spbaera, see Naiden,

pp. 47, 59; for classical scientific sources, pp. 69 ff. For a condensed and readily
available account of contemporary influences on Buchanan's treatment of his
subject, see I. D. McFarlane, "The History of George Buchanan's Sphaera," in
French RenaissanceStudies, sy4O-7o, ed. Peter Sharratt (Edinburgh, 1976), pp. I94-
2I2, esp. pp. 199-202. This study is particularly valuable for the new light it
throws on Buchanan's contacts with contemporary scientists, scholars, and scientific
poets such as Tycho Brahe, Elie Vinet, Nicolas de Grouchy, Pierre de la Ramee,
Ronsard, Baif, Pontus de Tyard, Belleau, Antoine de Mizault, and others.
5 Naiden, pp. 6-ia; McFarlane, ibid., pp. 201-2.
6 McFarlane, ibid., p. 194. It may also have been used in Buchanan's tutoring of
James VI, upon the poet's return to Scotland (p. 197).
7 Naiden, pp. 1 5 1-2. See also J. A. Van Dorsten, Poets, Patrons and Professors: Sir
Philip Sidney, Daniel Rogers, and the Leiden Humanists (Leiden and London, I962).
Next to Thomas Randolph, Rogers was Buchanan's closest English friend, and he
was responsible for the circulation of much of Buchanan's work in Holland and
elsewhere.
8 For the relation between manuscripts and editions, see Naiden, pp. 1 57 ff., and

McFarlane, "George Buchanan's Latin Poems from Script to Print." Still to be

found in the manuscript collection of Edinburgh University is an edition and
elaborate commentary on the poem by Adam King, made in I6I5; see Naiden, p.
154 et passim, and Leicester Bradner, MfusaeAnglicanae: A History of Anglo-Latin
Poetry 1sOO-I92y (New York, 1940), pp. 127-8.
9 Van Dorsten, p. 43.
10 Albert Marie Schmidt, La Poesie Scientifique en France au Seizieme Siicle (Paris,
I938), p. 274. Naiden agrees with this estimate, but McFarlane ("History of
Sphaera," p. 203) suggests more originality in Du Monin.
II In addition to the work of Schmidt and the anthology edited by Dudley Wilson
already cited, see also these recent studies: Guy Demerson, "Meteorologie et
poesie fransaise de la Renaissance," in French RenaissanceStudies, ed. Peter Sharratt
(see n. 4 above), pp. 8I-94; Dudley Wilson, "The Quadrivium in the Scientific
Poetry of Guy Lefevre de la Boderie," ibid., pp. 95-108; Kathleen M. Hall, " Pontus
de Tyard: a reply to a recent article," ibid., pp. I85-93; and Luzius Keller, Palingene,
Ronsard, Du Bartas: trois itudes sur la poesie cosmologiquede la Renaissance(Berne, 1974).
12 Georgic Tradition in English Poetry, Columbia University Studies in English and

Comparative Literature, No. I2I (Morningside Heights, I935), pp. 27, 229.
13 Naiden, p. 93; he was also unaware of the Dutch translation by Van Hout.
'4 The manuscript in which the present translation appears, British Library MS

Harley 4628, contains four works by Ia. Co.: the verse translation of Book I of
Buchanan's Sphaera, "The designe of a Tragedy called Romanus," a Latin prose
treatise called "Dialecticae & physicae lectionae," and a translated "lyfe of Josephe
Anchieta," the Jesuit missionary to Brazil. A hitherto unrecorded comedy by
James Cobbe[s] is preserved in Bodleian MS Rawl. poet. 178. For scattered in-
formation on his life and for Cobbes's authorship of these works and possibly

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 De Sphaera,Book I II7
others, see my " James Cobbes, Jacobean Dramatist and Translator," PBSA,
LXXII (I978), 68-74.
i5 Folio 294, which immediately follows the text of the translation, is blank, but
it bears this heading: "The Second Booke of George Buchanan of the Spheare: to
Tymoleon," suggesting that I. C. intended to continue his rendering of the Latin
text.
16 Naiden, p. I 5 1.

I7 OperaOmnia... curante ThomaRuddiman,A.M. (Edinburgh, z7I5), 2 vols. The

De Spbaeraappears in II, II4-I70. All quotations in the explanatory notes are
from this edition, which was reprinted with some changes in 1725. For an evalua-
tion of Ruddiman's edition, see Naiden, pp. 15 5-6. Naiden's variant readings for
Book I are on pp. I66-9.

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 Georgij Bucanani de Sphaera. Lib. i. in English verse
translated by I. C.

[I, I-28. The plan of the poem and its justification; the
poet invokes God and Timoleon de Brissac, his pupil,
to whom the poem is addressed.]

f. 283r The world's diuisions and the lincke that tyes

The different seedes of things, what motion swayes
The tymes of light & shade, Turnes heat to Colde,
And sunne & moone with darkenes doth enfolde,
My soule bidds speake. 0 thou whome purer light, 5
In heauenly Temple, hides from Mortall sight,
Father of All, assist my daring Muse,
Whilest I proclayme thy worckes & doe peruse
Heauen's boundlesses Mass: that they whome long
neglect
Hath lulled in darcknes may their Soule erect IO
To heauen, on whose bright walls whilst they reflect,
Amaz'd att fleeting Tyme's exact recourse,
May thence Conceaue the Author whose sole force
Sustaynes & rules all by eternall lawes,
Whose wysdome Infinite vse from them drawes. I 5
Timoleon, greatest hope of thy great Sire,
And of thy Countrye, loyne with my desire,
Parnassus' latest Impe, now in thy prime,
Castalian woodes & sacred streames to Clymbe.
Seeke the Nymphes' rondes & Contemplation
milde, 20
Vnknowne to th' vulgar, with no Care defilde.
The Tyme shall Come, when yeares more strength
shall yielde,

Title suppliedfrom Jol. 26Ir which contains a table of contentsfor the distinct collectionof
papers in which the text appears
22. strength] MS reads strenght
I8

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 De Sphaera,Book I II9
That thou a steede shalte managein the fielde,
And like thy Sire, a mighty Speareshallt wielde.
Whilest, his doth thunder on Liguria'stowers 25
And Germanscrushe with Councell & with powers,
Or warrelikespaniardes,& french Trophies sette
f z83v To decke the shoareswith Sisters'teares yet wette.
[I, 29-5 I. The universedefined,anddividedinto the
supralunaryunchangingpart and the sublunarysphere
where all things change and perish. The sublunary
sphere is the abode of the four creative elements: fire,
air, earth, and water.]

All this thou seest arounde, beneathe, above,

With endelesse motion Tyme's softe wheeles to
moue, 30
All Comprehending. Sage Antiquity,
Viewing the light & sweete variety
Of heauen in Those bright globes of purest light,
Gaue it Name Mundus,for the Epithite.
But though this frame vnited bee but one, 35
Made vppe of Mutuall Combination,
And all but one Commanderdoe obeye,
The partes are not a like dispos'd, nor they
Of one selfe nature: for the StarrySpheares,
Brightheauen'slargepallacewhich so high apeares, 40
From age exempt doth with one face endure,
Stearingone Course still, on foundations sure.
But what so eare the Moone's arche doth include
Is Chang'd & Altered; strange vicissitude
There raygnes & into all partes doth intrude. 45
This raging on it selfe in Ciuile strife
Consumes, or is consum'd: Takes a new lyfe,

28. shoares] in marginal: Poe: or (illegible)

29. this] what insertedabovewith caretunderthis
36. Mutuall] various crossedout, Mutuall writtenabove
44. Is Chang'd & Altered] in margindoth Change & Alter

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izo ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Agayne to perishe. In this vault are thrust
Fower all compounding bodyes: Earth the firste,
Then water, on whose face the fleete aer flyes, 50
Then lightest fire, next to the azure Skyes.
[I, 52-93. The position and nature of the four ele-
ments in relation to the earth; the intervention of God
in creating the land masses above the waters. Why
the earth is spherical.]

These by their natiue lightnes thus are sette,

Or ponderous weight, by which the Solid mette
In one greate Masse, are by the same deprest
In Earthe (the Centre of the worlde) to reste: S5
Which water's resteles moysture doth embrace,
And her drie Globe with streames doth enterlace.
f. 284r The subtile aer succeedes &, heauier, beares
The winged fier to the Coelestiall Spheares.
These so are lincked, that the higher spheare 6o
The lower closely toucheth, euery wheare.
The fire the aer, aer water doth embrace,
And water wholly would possesse Earth's face:
But the Creator's care did first commande
Hills to aduance & vallyes sincke, the lande 65
To Cleaue it selfe, to giue the waters roome,
And wynding shoares the sea's rage to entombe.
Our gracious father, Carefull of our good,
Att first thus limitted the raging floud,
And lefte earth free to view heauen's naked face: 70
That hee who from thence doth devine his race
(Though Earthe's Inhabitant) his countrye seeing
(Allthough his Soule, in Earthly prizon beeing),
On Contemplation's wings alofte might ryse,
From Earthe's Contagion to his Natiue Skyes. 75

6o. higher] in margin al: ovter

6I. lower] in margin al: inner
7I. hee] in margin Manne

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 Book I
De Sphaera, 12I
The Elements their bounded Orbes thus keepe,
Only except the Earth, which with the deepe
Impartsher Spheare,each yielding other place,
And in their loynt seate louingly embrace,
Their ponderous weight causing this Orbe's face. 8o
For Massiue bodies Naturally tende
To the worlde's Centre: Water doth descende;
So rockes, from Mountaynesrent, the woods down
beare,
All seeking roundnes If not lett appeare.
Hence reason,that the earthys rounde, doth fynde. 85
But if thy sence thou truste before the mynde,
As more secure, thy sence shall soone relent,
f. z84v Conuinc'dwith argumentsmost euidente.
[I, 94-I36. Traditional arguments for the sphericity
of the earth: slowness of sunrise and sunset, lunar
eclipses, and the varying altitude of the polar con-
stellations.]

For if the eartheweare playne from Indie's streames

Vnto Alcides' pillars, phoebus' beames go
Should light on Cales as soone, from farthest east,
As vppon Ganges; & beeing in the weste,
Att one selfe moment from the earthe'swhole face
Night's Sable wings the lightsome daye should chase.
But Nowe, successiuelythe darcknesflyes 95
Aurora'smilde approache:when phoebus' ryse
Calls the swarte Indians from their downy beddes,
Moyst night yett hangs vppon our sleepy heads.
Agayne, when night on India's playnes doth lye,
Hesperia'splayneswith phoebus' beamesdoe frye, ioO
Because the Inter-rysingearth sends light,
Later or sooner parting phoebus' sight,
Who thereby setts & ryses: him as faste
Night's shadowe flyes & after him doth haste.
93. whole] MS readswhose

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122 ThreeRenaissance ScientificPoems
As much the Moone's ecclipse doth well
persuade, I0S
Oppos'd vnto her brotherin Earthe'sshade,
Soyling her glorious browes with pallid hue.
When In our euening shee to us doth shewe,
From Midnight poynte shee heares the Persianbrasse,
Denijng Soundes of Magicke spells to passe. II0
What? When one parte thus waneth from our sight,
Her other shynes, approachingphoebus' light;
A Circle'sarche the shadow there doth frame
Of forme like to the earth from whence it came.
For thre-Squarebodyes three-Squareshadowes
make; II5
Of Square, square formes; of rounde, rounde formes
they take.
The earth beeing such, the Sunn's beames, Circling
rounde
f. 285r Her Spheare,the shadowe in like forme doe bounde,
Poynted i'th'ende like to piramid.
Now if the eartheweare flatt on euery side, Izo
The sounding moone coulde not bee found att all,
Nor earthe'sdarkeshadowe in a Circlefall.
The Earthe likewyse, from the parrhasianbeare
To the South wynd's colde seate, is a due Spheare.
For looke: how much wee to the South ascende, 125
So much the pole-starredothe towardesearthedescende.
ApproachingBoreas, the Arcadianbeare
Her teame aduancethstill with equall share.
As much of heauen as earth'sbulke heere doth hide,
So much it raysethon the other side. 130
[I, I37-I5z. A concessionthat the earthis not per-
fectly spherical.]
Nor bee thou mou'd that parte of earthe doth swelle
To heauen, & vallyes parte doe sincke to helle,
iog. From Midnight] in margin al: paste Zenith

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 De Spbaera,Book I 123

Parte (for mann's vse which Nature did Ordayne)

To spreadit selfe into a spacious playne.
These, to our eves, make Inequalitye I35
Which doth to earth Shape Sphaericalldenye.
But if Earthe's selfe to heauen wee doe compare,
And those bright walls in which all closed are,
That all (whose partes we so admire)'sso small,
That it doth seeme to haue no bulke att all. 140
As if a flye on some glasse Orbe shoulde crall,
Whose circuit seemeth smothe & Sphaericall,
She fyndes both hills & dales her course to staye
And setts her small feete in a Rugged waye.
Nor coulde shee sticke, but that the Orbe's surface 145
Roughnes Imperceptibledid deface.
[I, 153-I 8o. Traditionalargumentsto show that the
water envelope of the earth is sphericalalso: the
varyingaltitudeof the pole, the appearance
of a ship
at sea,andthe analogybasedon smalldropsof water.]
Like reasons shew the water to collect
f. z85v Her selfe to rondnes, where no letts deflect
Her Naturall weight, which such a forme would fayne.
For as on lande, so sayling on the mayne, Iso
The poles doe ryse & fall & serue to light
On Earth the water's rysing, hindering sight.
Marcke, when with bigge swolne sayles a shippe doth
glide
From Harborough, the sea's arch her wast doth hide,
Her sayles & wauing streamersyett appeare: I 55
So from the maste'stoppe, all the shoare'sseene cleare,
Which cannot from the vpper decke bee seene,

I34. To] in marginal: doth

135. our eyes] in marginvs; make Inequalitye] in marginbreed great (illegible)
142. Sphaericall]MS readsShaericall
147. the water to] in marginthat water doth
149. weight] in marginal: Course

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I 24 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Nor hatches, though they somewhat nearer beene.
Farther, the liquid water beeing knowne
A Bodye Homogene-whose partes are one- I6o
Each mite like nature, forme, name doth require
Vnto the whole: the sparke's as truely fire
Which lurkes in Cendres as the flame that brought
Laomedon's greate City vnto nought;
Nor had this arche-flame any propertye I65
Which nature to a candle doth denye.
So the vaste Ocean's not water more
Then dropps on flowers which Summer Nights restore.
As, then, the siluer dewe itself doth rounde
To little globes enameling the grounde, 170
And dropps from houses, so the sea's large streame
Archeth it selfe, desiring the like skeame.
[I, I8l-262. The earth is proved spherical by the
awesome voyages of the Portuguese around the world.
They are driven to this feat, however, by Avarice, a
fiend sent from Hades.]
But why doe I reason thus long in vayne,
Seeking things, of themselues playne, to explayne?
When Nor hotte exhalations that infect 175
The Tawny Indians, nor Soll's streight aspect
Parching the IEthiop, Nor Chill Boreas' Brize
f. 286r Can Auarice fright? Spanishe discoveryes
Haue search'd the vaste world's secretes & display'd
What euer Nature in long darcknes lay'd. i8o
For Styx brought forthe insatiate loue of gayne,
A hell hatch'd Monster of the selfsame strayne
That weare the Harpyes: on her loathsome face
Sittes foule neglect; her front deepe wrinckles chace;
Her lawes wide-yawning, pale with famine, longe 185
Consum'd with care: A quicke periurious tongue,
I 58. though] MS reads thou
I76. streight] in margin al: Neere
178. fright] partly illegible

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 De Sphaera,Book I I25
Repleatewith poyson. Troubled dreamesaffraye
Her sleepes, expelling reste both night & daye.
Shee, viewing the Livean coastes in apt to beare
Other then Broome, & resdes people there, I90
Feeding on hearbes & rootes, her selfe instills
Into their heartes,which, all vnseene, shee fills
With Auarice & settes before their sight
Their faynting myndes, their labours infinite,
Their paynes vppon that sandy soyle mispent, 195
Harde fare, poore house, coursest vestiment.
Their sleepes shee troubleth with phantastiquedreames
Of AEthiop'sfleecy woodes, like snowe which seemes;
The Seres seated vnder other starres,
Claddewith wood's spoyles; the Indian filling
larres 200
With Ginger, pepper; CinnamomIn heapes
The Riche Arabiancroudes. Chang'dMirrhasweates
Incense & gummes from India's vntill'd playnes;
The Antes collect huge heapes of golden graynes.
With these entic'd, compel'd by pouertye, 205
Hoping, promising to Crowne their industrye,
Their Countrie,wiues, & dwellings they forsake,
f. 286v Parents & Children,which with teares leaue take,
Obiecting their base liues to perills playne,
Guyded by Auarice. Though frenzy rayghne zi0
Alike in all, yett feare of Seas vntried
Made them to coaste the shoares, nor durst they ride
The open mayne; till, gayne exiling feare,
They plye to th' deepes, & loued shoaresforbeare,
Plowing the foamy mayne with daring prowe. 21 5
IEthiop's riche spoyles, & Zayne's too, seeme nowe
But poore, Nor Gunny Congo blacke; nay more,
The fruict of many ages, Africk's stoare,
I 89. in apt] erasureor illegiblemark betweenthesewords
202. croudes] in marginsweepes
2I6. too] MS readsto

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I 26 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Or what not touch'd yett with our auarice,
She had lefte neglected. India doth entice 220
Their fancyes only nowe; 'tis shee doth holde
Where with to quenche their endeles thirst of golde
And crowne their wishes. Thus enflam'd they steare
Where the oblique zone lustely partes the yeare
In equall balance, poysing Colde with heate. 225
Not Seres, Indians, nor the peoples greate
Which, cheared with young Eurus' mayden blaste,
Softe downy wool from fleecy woodes doe caste;
Nor that laste lande which Bacchus, cloyed, sawe
With conqueste, whome sterne Tigres yoak'd did
drawe, 23o
Where greate Alcides' labours did expire,
Whence Macedonian Squadrons did retire,
Suffice their fury. Where the worlde extendes
Southe from Alcides' pillars, Europe's endes,
To Colde Canopus beyonde Capricorne 235
The sea with daring keele they vppe haue torne.
All that had long been hidde in Ignorance:
f. 287r Whether Nor Phrensy, hate, nor wandering chance,
Rashnes, or glory of lyfe prodigall,
The Roman or Barbarian armes did call- 240
No poet's monster-teeming fictions came.
The damned thirste of golde prasum'd the same;
Coasting the world's vast periphere, when nought
Was hidde or vnattempted, to light brought
What reason long with arguments had prou'd, 245
Earth, water, aer, and that great frame that's mou'd
In high heauen's bosome, Closing all Rounde:
The world in all her partes it orbed founde.
It founde howe dull Earthe, balanc'd & sustayn'd

224. oblique] MS reads olique

242. presum'd] in margin al: disclos'd
244. Was] in margin al: laye

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 De Sphaera,Book I 127

By her howne weight, hath the world's centre

gayn'd: 250
Which rounde encircling, heauen'slarge Spheares
contayne,
Striuing the middle centre to attayne.
Whence comes their Orbed Motion, wherein pursuing
Themselues they knitte tymes still, to tymes rensuing.
[I, 262-289. Like the earth, both the aerial envelope
and the outer envelope of elementalfire are spherical.]

Since then one body, Sea & Earth compose, 255

Which Roundure doth on euery side enclose,
Reason Conuinceththat the Concaueaer,
Surroundingboth, the selfsameshape should beare,
Whose outwarde verge, hemm'd in with actiue fire
By his embracings,doth like forme acquire. z6o
Lyfe-Causingfire, Innate lightnes, yet
Transcendes,whome the moone's circling globe doth
lette,
Which to the fluide matterdoth apply
A Circledforme, whose lowe extremitye
Is concaue, 'cause the partes themselues do reare, z65
Aspiring vpwarde, and the laste vpbeare
And presse vppon the higher-all Imbu'd
With appetite Into Heauen to intrude.
f. 287v Thus Centre-flyingfire describesa Spheare
Whose inwarde orbe a Concaueforme doth beare. 270
These elements, endu'd with shape alike, are yett
In motion different:some doe vpwarde flitt
With natiue lightnes, some with weight downe fall,
This lation only beeing Naturall.

25 3. their] MS readsthier; Motion] in marginal: Course

259. outwarde verge] exteriour crossedthroughafter verge, outwarde insertedwith
caret
263. Which] in marginAnd
271. elements] wordin text illegible,elements suppliedfrommargin

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i 28 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
But yett that fire & adherent aer 275
Are Circularly moued, these declare:
The Comett lowring with a fatall beame
And other fires that in the welkin streame,
Which ryse with night vppon the Eastern verge
And In Hesperian waues with her immerge, 28o
Or equally with Phoebus' chariot pace.
[I, z9O-3 iI. The elemental spheres of fire and air
revolve, carried by the impetus of the prime mover.
Amid this whirling the earth stands immovable.]
For of themselues these bodyes cannot trace,
But them heauen's maistering rapture doth enforce
With winged speede to runne a Circled Course.
Aer's baser partes, & that which earth doth loue, 28
Inconstant blastes incertayne wayes doe moue.
For whenas phoebus bringeth backe the light,
Sucking the dewe & vapours of the night,
Thicke cloudes doe masque heauen's face, whose
moyster parte
Congeales to rayne or Hayle, the Countrye's
smarte, 290
Or like the purest wool on hills doth shewe,
Or Earthe encircleth with the Morning dewe;
But when thinne Cloudes of drye exhaled Smoake,
Ioyn'd In a Masse, the aer's large fieldes doe cloake,
The Rayny South streight blowes, or Boreas' chille 295
Scattres the cloudes, & all with dust doth file.
The Earth-encircling Ocean Rounde doth flowe,
Returning, & perpetuall floudes doth knowe.
f. 288r Onely the Earth, Immoueable, doth reste
On her owne weight, nor is she downewarde preste, 300
Or vppewarde in streight lyne; nor on this side
Or that, nor In a Circle doth shee ride.
[I, 3I 2-325. Aristotelian argumentsfor the fixity and
centralityof the earth.]
z88. of the night] which are light crossedout

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 De Sphaera,
Book I I29

For since heauen'sframe is euerywhereaboue,

And Earth the centre seekes, shee coulde not moue
In a streight line without vnmeete ascent 305
In drawing neerer to the firmament,
And shoulde infringe well orderedNature's lawes,
Which vppewardelight things, downwardeheauy
drawes,
And In their due place quiete rest to all
Impartes,if no strange accident befall. 3IO
Neither alone, then, can the Earthe forsake
The Centre; neither other force can make
Her ryse or fall, or any waye decline.
For we no strength so powerfull can assigne
Whose force can cause Earthe's masse her seate
to leaue. 3I 5
[I, 325-337. The poet deniesthe rotationof the earth
asexpoundedby Pythagoras, andrequestsTimoleonto
attendthe discoveryof truth.]

Nor motion circulardoth shee receaue,

As many ancient wizardes did suspect
Who followed the Samiandoctor's sect,
Saying that such as doe the starresbehold-
Thincking heauen'sframe In circles to be rolde, 32o
The Earth vnmov'd-are so deceau'das theye
Who in a Shipp, with full Sayle, make their waye,
The hilles, woodes to mere backwardeseeme to flye,
Whil'st the boate motionlesse they thincke to lye.
So darckea Night of errourmaye sence blinde. 325
But then, my Sweete youth, employe thy only mynde
With mee in this, & with her Curious eye
Surueyethe worlde, & long hidde truthe descrye.

304. seekes] in marginholdes

314. strength] MS readsstrenght
326. my Sweete youth] in marginTimoleon

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130 ThreeRenaissance
ScientificPoems
[I, 338-395. Mechanical arguments to show that the
earth cannot be moving: objects would be left
behind, vibration would be noticeable, arrows could
not be shot eastward, the earth would be flooded. If
the air and water were to travel with the earth, sailors
would not be able to traverse the ocean.]

f. z88v Imagine that the heauens & euery thing

In them stands still; Earthe only runnes the ring, 330
Whose Circuitby her speedy flight is made
In twice twelue equall howers of light & shade.
This speede the featheredshaft cannot attayne,
Nor nimblest foule nor wynde that waye can gayne,
Nor bullettsBelch'dby Sulfur'sflamesfrom brasse 335
And wraptin smoake-though they for swiftness passe.
Marckewhen the little Childrencrackersthrowe,
Or arrowesare sent singing from the bowe,
Or wynde from bellowes Into furnace sente
To irritatethat furious Element: 340
How doth the aer, diuided, greaue & hisse?
If, then, so small shorte force occasion this,
What sounde, what murmur,thinck you, will resounde
Whil'st the whole Earthe doth walke her hasty rounde,
And all her woodes, rockes, hills so high that ryse 345
Shall rende the aer: who can expressethe cryes?
If then the Earthe should poaste into the Easte
With such swifte speede, reuoluing to the weste,
All in It, shaken with the noyse, would fall:
Temples & houses, Citties, menne, & all 350
That Soudayneruine would att once surprize.
The birdes whose wings did rayse them to the Skyes
Would wayle to see that matchlessemotion beare
Away the woodes, their nestes, & young ones there-
Perchancetheirmatestoo. Turtleswould not dare 3S5
Alone to fligh without their mates, for feare
347. Easte] weste crossedout
348. west] easte crossedout

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 DeSphaera,Book I I3I
Leaste Earthe'sswifte raptureshould transportetheir
doues,
That they bee lefte to mourne their happles loues.
f 289r If light-arm'dPersiansshould beginne the fight
With Medeslike arm'd,by reasonthe Earth'sflight 360
And heauen'sfix'd posture, whil'st the arrowes flye
One side must by Earthe'smotion carriedbee
Vppon the storme: the other should not feele
One shafte to wounde, for that the poynted steele
Should falle In uayne, or one the thrower light, 365
Frustratedby the Earth's Imagin'd flight.
The Earth thus mouing, if the sea lye still
And deep vnmou'd, a portion of Earthe will
Swimme on the waues, & thus gaynst Nature's right
Grosse rockes shall swimme on water farre more
light. 370
The moysture shall not ffitte (nor Earth's weight reare
It to hills' toppes) which pibbls cannot beare.
But if earthe'sfirmenesdoe the waues resist,
Newe partes must dayly be by them possest;
And parte, which daye lefte couered with the
floudde, 375
The night shall see conuertedInto mudde.
If with the earthethe Sea likewyse do moue,
And stormy blasts which on the Sea doe roue,
Rapt with her motion-agaynst this strangeforce,
Still bente one waye, no shippe can holde her
course. 38o
The Sea like some strongue Currentwould so fall,
That the poore marinercould not with all
His force, his oares, or his sheeting Spreadde,
Stemme the stiffe streame,but must bee maistered.

374. possest] in margin al: opprest

37 5. & parte] this place crossedout

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I32 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
[I, 396-417. If the earth rotated, the heavens would
stand still, and thus the driving power of the planetary
and lunar motions would disappear.]

What shoulde I speake of phoebe, or the Sunne, 38 5

Or other starres, which different Courses runne ?
As in a dance now Ioyn'd, now seperate,
Yett each obseruant of the laws of fate?
Stood these but still, how then coulde phoebe straye
f. 289V From Sol so farre, as In her middle waye 390
To loose her light: some tymes approach so neare
That this defect the wondring worlde should feare.
Nor should Sol Climbe nowe to the parched lyne
Of Cancer, Nowe to the Rayny South declyne;
Nor in his middle Journey whil'st hee stayes 395
Should giue like lengthe vnto the nights & dayes.
No different season then the Earthe Could bring
From frosts & snowe vnto the gentle spring,
To Numerous flowers, to fruicts of various shapes,
To vineyardes loaded with alluring grapes. 400
If heauen stoode still, fayre venus should not ryse,
Now from the Eastern sea to Cleare the Skyes
For phoebus' neare approach, Nowe cheare the weste
With glorious rayes & light the sunne to Reste.

[I, 417-442. The erroneous doctrines of the early

philosophers of Croton and Tarentum stated and
refuted. Their belief was in not merely one moving
earth, but two.]

As wyde the sages which Inhabited 405

Crotone & Spartan Tarent wandered,
In the assigning earth & water place.
They helde In Nature nothing nobler was,
Or purer, then the lyfe-Imparting fire-
Of generation & encrease the sire: 4IO
Cause of that motion which, Conceau'd I'th'hearte,
Doth by the Sinowes quicken euery parte,

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 De Sphaera,Book I I 33
Insinuating soules which cannot dye
Into frayle limmes, so loyning earthe to th' Skye.
They Iudg'd this noblest elemente's due seate 415
Was the world's centre & moste close retreate.
Thence beste it might it selfe to all Imparte:
As (in our litde worlde we see) the hearte,
Which quickneth euery portion of the reste
With bloud & lyfe, entowred in the breste, 420
f. Z9or To all the partes Imparteshis liuely heate.
Next fire, they held, the Earthe had plac'd her seate,
Which Earthe was double, this & that oppos'd,
Whose endless circling Course the fire enclos'd.
True reason this opinion doth gaynesaye, 425
For heauy things maye onely moue one waye,
Tending from heauen'shigh vaulte to th' Centrelowe.
Of force, then, massive Earthe must thither goe,
There i'th' worlde's middle station for her to reste,
Confin'dwith aer, & Globous forme inueste. 430
[I, 443-5I3. Further mechanical arguments for the
central position of the earth: the size of the disc of the
sun at sunrise and sunset, the length of forenoon and
afternoon, the shadows cast by the sun at the equinox,
and the event of lunar eclipses.]

The same is prou'd by tokens euident:

For if the eartheaproach'dthe Orient
More then the Ocean where the same doth reste,
Daye-blazingphoebus rysing In the Easte
Would greaterseemethen when that glorious light 43 5
Setting resignes his station to the night.
So th'other staires,as well the fix'd as they
Which with much differingspeede aboue doe straye
In constant Tenor through heauen's azure playne,
Woulde in their ryse, as beeing neerer, gayne 440
Greaterapparence;but the westerne tract,
425. doth gaynesaye] contradicts crossedout

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I34 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
More distant, woulde diminishe their aspect.
Obserue the sunne: when his strayte-poynting beames
From Zenith light on Nilus' rysing streames,
And trees no shadowes caste, his beames t'abate 445
(If hee weare nearer then to th'Easterne gate)
His waye remayning must exceede that paste;
So to noone poynt his coach should make more haste
Clymbing the Easterne hill, but thence descende
With slower pace towardes his Journey's ende. 450
But saye the Sunne approach'd the Occident
f. 290v More then Aurora; doubtles his ascent
Vnto the Zenith would require more tyme
Then his descent thence, to th'Hesperian Clyme.
So that hee coulde not then from hearte of heauen 455
Diuide the daye, as nowe, In portions euen.
If hee weare nearer Earthe att his vpryse
Hee could not caste a Shadowe of like size
From Equidistant poynts to moue, beeing Easte
From Zenith, as declining to the weste. 460
Bodyes Opacous, sette agaynst the light,
Extende their shades by so much more forth-right
By how much light is more from them remote;
Since then the Sunne's like shades, like howers denote,
Hee must recede a like from Earthe, in all 465
Poynts alike distant from his ryse and fall.
Neither doth Earth to the South pole decline
Or to the other where the Beare doth shine;
But in the middest betweene their equall shares
Divideth Heauen into Hxmispheares. 470
Marck when the swallowe entres with the spring
And shewes the daye the darck night equalling.
Or libra, balancing the daye with Night,
Brings gentler Sunnes with purple grape's delight:
469. betweene] in margin al: vnto
471. swallowe] MS readsswallowes
474. grape's] MS readsgrapse

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 De Sphaera,Book I 135
Then phoebus, rysing in the rosy easte, 475
Darting his beames on Earth with dewe possest.
Both lofty towres and armed batdements
With aged Oakes (which bound menne's seuerallrents)
Marckwith their poynted shadowes in the west
The very place where phoebus is to reste: 480
Where when his panting steedes arriue,our Eyes
May see their shadowes turn'd to his vprise.
f. 29lr But when the Sunne to the moyst South diuerts
In Capricorne,Or towards the North reuerts
EnflamingCancer'sClawes, the Shadowes bende 485
Now Towardes the Northe, now towards the South
extende.
But if Earthe's globe, of Centredispossest,
Where neerer to the Northern Beare addrest,
All shadowes should vnto the North applye;
Or if vnto the South it came more nigh, 490
All shadowes should encline vnto that parte,
So th'Euening shadowes shoulde obliquely thwarte
And Cutte the firste which phoebus rysing made.
Neither should Delia In Earthe's Soudayne shade
SufferEcclipse & loose her brother's sight, 495
When as oppos'd to him shee shewes most light,
lust halfe of heauen remote: this could not bee
If heauen's midde Centrefrom the Earth weare free.
[I, 513-578. In a favorable climate, the Chaldean
astronomers determined the circumference of the earth,
a triumph of the human mind. First, degrees were
invented, then the length of a degree upon the earth
was determined; multiplication of this distance by the
number of degrees in a circle determined the size of
the earth.]
Leaue then base cares, Timoleon, & with mynde
Aduanc'd walke with mee through heauen's Orbes
to fynde 500

478. menne's] MS readsmenne

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136 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
By what Inuention sage Antiquitye
Founde out Earthe'sCompasse,& her Industrie
To learne how farre her grossenes did extende,
And so her whole dimensions comprehend.
'Tis helde th'Assirianmagi firste of all 505
Numbred the starres& them by names did Call,
Departing them to seuerallConstellations.
Which best they might, hauing their habitations
In Champaignesopen seated to the Skyes,
Wheretemperaturedid drawetheir myndes & eyes 5I0
With Calmedaer, enrich'dwith glorious lights,
And heauens all Cloudles In the summerNights.
All difficultiesIndustriedid Cleare,
f 29zv And heauen with Numbers & diuisions share.
The lyne which libra & the Ramme doth passe 5I 5
Into 4 equall quadrantspartedwas,
And that they might these quadrants'measurefinde
To each they nynty equall partes assign'd;
Thus was that Circlemesuredwhich Rolles
His partes alike remote from both the poles. 520
Heauen once thus knowne, it seem'd a shame that
hee
Whose witte had made so far discouerye
Should of his dwelling (earth)bee ignorant
(Whose mynde did heauen, as his owne Countrie,
haunte)
And In his natiue soyle Imprizon'ddye, 525
Not knowne to th'worlde nor lefte In memorye.
But for that Colde or heate Intolerable,
Or beastes, made moste of Earth Inhabitable,
Or, which was worse, mann's barbarouscruelty
Did from the reste banish Ciuilitye: 530
For lyfe-ContemingAuaricefrom ease
Coulde yett drawe none to truste the faythless seas.
50 5. th'Assirian] MS reads th'Assiririan
509. Champaignes] MS reads Chanpaignes

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 De Sphaera,Book I 137
Whereforethe bodye conquering Toyle, the mynde-
As heauen's newe guest-In heauen did seke to fynde
Earth'sMeasure:so that going towardesthe beare 535
Ouer their Champaignesixty two myles, there
They with their brazen quadrantmeasured
Heauen's quadrant(like which theirs was figured),
Distinguish'd Into nynety portions euen
Along the lembe, as quadrantsweare of heauen; 540
There by the Small dioptra taking sight
Of the pole-starrethey might perceaueher height,
Encreasedby one parte vppon the same.
Thence backe as farre returningwhen they came
f. 292r They might perceauethe beareas much descende, 545
As if shee did to Seas forbidden tende.
Many thus trying still, the same euent
Succeeded,so that long experiencelente
This knowledge: that in the CoelestiallSpheare
One parte doth answer 62 myles heere, 550
Which by that Circle'sportions multiplying,
Which heauen departesalike the two poles flying,
The Circuitof Earthe'sglobe was founde; which when
They had diuided Into 3 partes, then
It playnelye did appearto them that eache 555
Contaynedas much as a lyne hence shoulde reache
Through by Earth's centre to Antipodes.
Thus neither Craggy rockes nor raging Seas,
Nor Earthe Impenetrableto the sight,
Coulde lett the mynde from taking of her flight 56o
Through Nature's Secrets, & with lanterne cleare
Of Reason passe through all the darcknesthere.

537. their] in marginal: a

542. her] the crossedout, her insertedabove
ssS It . . . to] insertedabove;eache of the 3 Contayned crossedout
556. as much as] would crossedout after as much as; hence] insertedbetweenlyne and
shoulde withoutcaret

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I 38 ScientificPoems
ThreeRenaissance
[I, 79-660. The earth is infinitely and incommensur-
ably smaller than the universe. Arguments to prove its
smallness with respect to the celestial sphere: the fact
that six signs of the zodiac are always visible, the
visibility of the rising moon, the phenomenon of the
stars Aldebaran and Antares.]
As hard it is with heauen Earthe to compare,
So that our reason may aright declare
How small a parte 'tis of the worlde, where pride 565
With glorious titles empires doth diuide,
Partes with the sworde, barters with losse of bloud,
And triumphes ouer little heapes of Mudde.
This masse alone Considered maye bee thought
Great, but conferr'd with heauen 'tis allmost
nought- 570
A poynte or Atome of the which, they wright,
The Olde Gargesoan fram'd worldes Infinite.
For if the globe which earth & Sea diuide
By millions of our myles weare multiply'd,
And these by thousand milions, yett these all 575
f. Z92v Farre shorte of that greate Spheare's dimensions fall.
Nor can wee fynde by Industrye or payne
How small a parte of heauen doth Earthe Contayne;
Nor more then possible it is to tell
Howe many pyntes the Ocean sea woulde flle. 58o
If as a poynt Earth weare not, then the heauen
Horrizon Coulde not parte in halfes euen,
So that sixe signes should euer giue vs light,
And sixe bee euer vnder, oute of sight.
Nor shoulde fleete Cinthia att her full then ryse 585
When phoebus setting leaues the westerne Skyes,
Nor drench her Chariot in Hesperian mayne
When hee is rysing in the easte agayne-
Vnlesse earthe's globes & water both, compar'd
To heauen, like some little Attomes far'd. 590
582. Coulde not parte] MS reads Coulde parte

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 De Sphaera,Book I I39
These staires, the bulle's eye, hearte of Scorpion,
For Colour, lustre, bigness bothe as one
Doe shewe as much; the wakeful centinel
From trench or pilot which i'th'deepe doth dwell
May see: as soone as one appearesi'th'easte 595
The other dippes his golden lockes i'th'weste,
Because that heauen they to luste halfes diuide,
And shewe the one but doe the other hide-
So that the Bounder-Circleequall much
The Centresof both starresatt once doth touch. 6oo
Otherwyse, where Earthe'sInequalitye
Did lett our sight, wee less of heauen shoulde see;
And where the aery hilles encreaseher height,
More then halfe heauen would fall within our sight,
And lesse lie hidde. But nowe we see where eare 605
From lowest playnes wee view heauen's endeless
Spheare
f. 293 Or from the high toppe of some aery hille,
No more nor lesse, but halfe appearethstille.
For when the bull falls in Tartessianbryne
The Scorpianthen doth in the Orient shyne; 6io
And thus returning with an equall pace,
This rysing, that Into the sea doth chase.
Rocks threatningheauen, Nor Earthe it selfe erect
To hills, could make a differenceof Aspect:
For if to heauen wee doe the Earthe compare, 6I 5
Like to a Moate in'th' Sunne shee doth appeare
To th'Alpes or Taurail,hilles that mate the Skye,
Or those where Chayn'dPrometheusdid lye;
Or like a pearleddroppe of smallestrayne,
Comparedto the worlde-surroundingmayne. 6zo
Beholde the sunne, whose beames doo all things
heede:
By howe much hee the Earthe's globe doth exceede
By reasons euident shall strayteappeare.
Yett hee so great, with purest light so Cleare,

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I40 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
Shining att full when as no Cloudes doe shewe, 625
Seemes scarce a foote in breadthe to vs belowe.
If hee, so small appearing, shoulde thee take
Into his Spheare, & but for one daye make
Thee guide his chariot like to Phaeton,
How small woulde Earthe seeme to thee from the
Throne- 630
If it weare seene att all? The Sunne wee see
Small, in regarde of his greate Spheare, to bee;
Yett that's but small too, if wee it compare
Vnto the fixed staires' Illustrious Spheare.
The Earthe thus being a small parte of the Sunne, 63 5
The Sunne of his owne Spheare, that likewyse one
As small a portion of the firmament;
f. 293v Compare, then, Earthe to the heauens' vaste extente,
And sure youre Reason Can no number fynde
By which the excesse maye truely be defin'd. 640
[I, 66i-68z. The poet moralizes upon the smallness
of the habitable portion of the earth as compared with
the universe as a whole. Man's foolish pride and
ambition are thus displayed for what they are.]

Such is the seate doth menne, beastes, foules

contayne.
How much is taken by the encroaching mayne,
From this streight prizon, & by th' midland seas
Which entring att the Straytes of Hercules
Fayre Europe farre from lybial Coastes remoues? 645
Adde the Arabian Gulfe & Caspian waues
Along Hircania; adde eache lake & fenne
To these; adde violent streames of Riuers then,
And such as to vaste lakes them selues displaye:
Whilst these drowne all, those rende the lande
awave. 6so
63 3. too] MS reads to
645. This line squeezedin between644 and 646

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 De Sphaera,Book I 14I
Smalle Earthe'sbeste parte lyes by them couered;
The rest like Ilands through the Sea is Spread.
Much of that too's by barreyneSandesopprest,
Or els by fruictles hills & rockes posseste;
Or heate or Colde make vninhabited, 655
Or will not for manne'svse be manured,
But poysonous weedes doth only bring to light.
Leaue then for shame, your frantiqueappetite,
Since the Orbe's so small where glory is ador'd.
Wrathefretts, feare kills, grief tortures, wante doth
hoorde: 66o
The sworde, fire, poyson, Treason Titles trye,
And human state feeles strangevariety.

finis: Laus deo, virginique matri:

65 3. too's] MS readsto's

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 Notes

12. recourse. Periodic recurrence, a coming back or round in due season.

i6. Sire. Charles, Count de Brissac, Buchanan's patron and commander
of the French forces in Italy.
22. Timoleon was eleven or twelve years of age when Buchanan became
his tutor in I555; the Sphaera was probably begun in this year (Naiden,
pp. i 8, 23).
25. Whilest. Meanwhile. Liguria's towers. Liguria is the area in northern
Italy between the Po River and the Gulf of Genoa. Naiden (p. 94) translates,
"the strongholds of the Piedmontes."
27-8. french ... wette. Translating Francisque tropaeis / Littora Phoebeas
decorettestantiaflammas. When the reckless Phaethon was destroyed by Zeus,
he fell into the Po River (see textual note for line 28; cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses,
II, 47 ff., and Pliny, Nat. Hist., III, i6); his grieving sisters wept tears that
turned to amber.
34. Mundus. In margin of MS: " Cleane or pure" (i.e., the meaning of the
Latin adjective mundus).
78. Imparts. Shares.
go. Alcides' pillars. Hercules' Pillars or the Strait of Gibraltar.
9I. Cales. Translating Gades, i.e., Cadiz.
I00. Hesperia'splaynes. The far west, or the world's end.
II5-i6. "Triangles cast triangles, squares give rise to square shadows,
rounded objects to round shadows" (Naiden, p. 96). thre-Square:having
three equal sides, triangular.
125-30. "By just as much as one goes down to the warm south, by just so
much is Ursa Minor lower. But the farther north [Boreas]one goes, the more
does the Northern Bear [Arcadian bearel raise herself; and in a similar vein,
as much as the swelling earth rises with its uneven back, so much of the sky
does it reveal, and conceal, for us" (Naiden, p. 97).
154. Harborough.Harbor. wast. The middle part of the upper deck of a ship.
i6o. Bodye Homogene. In margin of MS (partly illegible): "'oyoto[epEs
[c]onsisting by partes ... in them selues to ye whole." Latin text: Corpus

I64. Laomedon'sgreate City. Troy, Laomedon being Priam's father.

172. skeame. In margin of MS: "figure or shape."
177. Boreas. The north wind.
I89. Livean coastes. In margin of MS: "Portugal." in apt. Inept, not
conducive.
142

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 De Sphaera,Book I I43
I90. Broome. In margin of MS: "Spartum: pl[i]ni: l[ib.]: i9: cap 20 et
Diosc: l[ib.]: 4: c: I39: lobelius secundum edition: plantin: pag: 90:
Spanish Broome: it groweth about New Carthage in Spayne Cartagena: &
seruith for [word crossed out?] dye & diuerse other vses as you maye see in
the Cited authors." Spartum is the Latin for Spanish broom (Spartium
junceum), a native of the Mediterranean region. Pliny, in the chapter cited
in the marginal gloss, discusses its use for making nets, mats, carpets, etc.
Dioscorides was a major authority on herbs, and he discusses the medicinal
properties of broom in Book IV, Ch. I52 (see, e.g., the popular Latin
translation with commentary by Mattioli, Petri Andrea Matthioli... Corn-
mnentariiDenvo Avcti in Libros Sex Pedacii Dioscoridis [Lugduni, I 56z]; both
this edition and that of Venice 1 558 treat broom in IV, i z). The third
reference, lobelius,is to Matthias de L'Obel; the first edition of his Plantarum
seu Stirpiurn historia appeared in Antwerp in 1 576, a second in I 58 i. I have
been unable to check the accuracy of I. C.'s page reference. New Carthage
(Cartagena)is an ancient city in southeastern Spain, on the Mediterranean.
199-200. Seres ... spoyles. " The Chinese, in another climate, wealthy with
the products of trees " (Naiden, p. 98).
201-4. ". . . the rich Arab gathers his cinnamon. Then from a fecund
wound of mother earth frankincense and myrrh flow forth, and over fields un-
touched by the plowshare the ant gathers gold into lightless grottos"
(Naiden, p. 98). Chang'd(line zoz) may be a mistake for charg'd. The Latin
text reads simply Thus [i.e., tus] & mnyrrha fluunt... Pliny, Nat. Hist.,
XXXIII, 66, refers to Indian ants as digging up grains of gold.
209. Obiecting. Exposing.
2i6-20. The syntax of this sentence is difficult. Naiden's rendering may
help: "By this time the spoils of Ethiopia are not good enough, and the
Caliph seems a pauper, and so too Guinea and the Congo, heated from the
excessive sunlight, and of slight worth seems whatever Africa has accumu-
lated in centuries past or whatever it still declined to prize, before it was
corrupted with the poisons that corrupt us" (p. 99).
216. Zayne's. Translating Zalophus, which Ruddiman (Buchanan's Opera
Omnia, I715, II, II8) glosses as Caliphus; Naiden translates "Caliph."
217. Gunny. Dialectal variant of goundy,full of "gound" or matter (especi-
ally of the eyes), bleared. Several early Tudor instances of gunnyare found in
Walter W. Skeat, A Glossary of Tudor and Stuart Words, ed. and rev. A. L.
Mayhew (Oxford, I9I4), p. 174. The original phrase is nimnioCongussub sole
recoctus.
227. Eurus' maydenblaste. Eurus is the east wind and brother of Boreas,
the fierce north wind; though sometimes characterized as blustery and wet,
Eurus here appears to be a mild and temperate wind.
229-30. Bacchus or Dionysus was reputed to have travelled as far as the

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I44 ThreeRenaissanceScientificPoems
River Ganges. The Dionysiacaof Nonnus (C. A.D. 400) describes the "Indian
wars" in great detail. Here (XIV, 247-73, Loeb ed.) the battle chariots of
Dionysus are drawn by panthers, lions, and centaurs. The tiger was one of
the animals sacred to the god, but the term was applied in English usage to
other members of the cat family, especially the panther.
23I. The last of Hercules' labors assigned by the Delphic Oracle is
usually given as the fetching of the golden apples of the Hesperides, in the
Far West. The idea in lines 226-33 is that man's avarice drove him to the
limits of the known world-from the Far East (India, China) to farthest
West (Gibraltar).
232. India, the last land conquered by Alexander the Great, before his
army refused to go any farther.
233-5. "Where the earth spreads out south beyond the confines of the
goal of Hercules to cold Canopus [Canobus, an ancient Egyptian city near
Alexandria], to where the lofty summits of the convex sky gleam on the
other side of the tropic of Capricorn" (Naiden, p. 99).
237-41. "There were some places that long ignorance had covered with
impenetrable darkness in places where neither Roman nor barbarian arms
had ever been drawn by hatred, or by the madness of war, or by glory which
is prodigal of human life, or by headlong audacity or by simply being lost.
Hither the accursed love of gold broke in, where not even the license of
poets, prolific of excess, had dared to venture" (Naiden, p. 99).
254. rensuing. Apparently a variant of ensuing:following, coming after.
261-4. "The seeds of the eternal fire, because of the[ir] lightness, tend
upward, until the surrounding sphere of the moon prohibits further rising
and forces the fluxing material to coalesce into a globe" (Naiden, p. i oo).
The point is reiterated, in both original and translation, in the lines following.
318. Samian doctor's sect. In margin of MS: "Pythagoras" (with ditto
marks for each line, down to line 324).
337. crackers. Translating crapitacula,Naiden (p. Io2) gives "rattles." I.C.
seems to mean squibs or exploding fireworks, a meaning of crackersfound
by I590.
365. one. On.
371-2. "Would not water bore right through high mountains, though it
were unable before to support the tiniest pebble?" (Naiden, p. ioz).
405-6. Pythagoras migrated (c. 5 3 I B.C.) from his native Samos to Croton
in southern Italy, and after his death his followers settled in Tarentum.
Although the identification of the soul and life with fire was made by
Heraclitus of Ephesus (fl. c. 500 B.C.), who had no connection with Croton
or Tarentum, the reference is probably to the Pythagoreans; see note to
line 423.
423. WhichEarthe was double. The Latin text reads nec unam / Hanc statuere

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 De Sphaera,Book I I45
tamen, sed e huic Antichthona terran / Adversam aternos circumnignem volvere
gyros. Philolaos, of Croton or Tarentum (born c. 470 B.C.), was a Pythago-
rean; he constructed an astronomical system according to which the center
of the cosmos is a fire (hestia) around which revolve ten celestial bodies.
Nearest to the central fire is the counterearth (antich/hon),which is invisible to
us because it is on the opposite side of the central fire. Philolaos' system was
known from the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus.
432-3. "If the earth were closer to the sun when he is in the east than
when at the Tartessianboundary which receives his spent chariot at the end
of the day" (Naiden, p. I04).
439. Tenor. Continuous progress, course, movement.
455. from hearteof heauen.In margin of MS: "Cor coelis medium coeli:
Zenith: the highest poynt of heauen: In the Meridian." This Latin phrase
does not appearin the I 715 ed. or in any of the variant readings recorded by
Naiden; the text reads E solio spatiis medius.
475-6. The construction is elliptical, perhaps best understood as "Then
is phoebus rysing . . .," or "Then phoebus rises..
478. bound. Establish the boundaries of.
494. Delia. In margin of MS: "a Name of Dianna, goddess of moone ...
[illegible] the Ilande Delos the place of her byrth."
495. her brother's.In margin of MS: "Apollo the Sunne bore with her
att one byrthe."
515. lyne. Circle. Naiden adds this note (p. I48, n. io): "Et qui vectorem
Ph?yxi Libramquepererrat / Circulus(I, 530-I) might be taken by the unwary
to mean the ecliptic [i.e., that plane, passing through the center of the sun,
which contains the orbit of the earth; or the great circle in which this plane
intersects the celestial sphere], but in Palingenius the phrase is used to des-
cribe the equinoctial colure [i.e., the great circle passing through the celestial
equator (equinoctial), dividing it in half; it intersects the solsticial colure at
right angles at the poles]. ZodiacusVitae, ed. i6z8, Aquarius 57-60, p. z68,
lines 15-19. .."
5i6. 4 equallquadrants.In margin of MS: "quarters or 4th partes of a
Circle."
5I9. Thus. In the same way. that Circle. The equator.
527-32. "The greatest portion of the earth was torpid with cold, torrid
with flames, or infested with wild beasts, in desolation and neglect. More
savage than the very monsters was the barbaroussavagery of men, which
obtained over inhabited areas [therest]. At that time the insatiable love of
gold, which is prodigal of human life, had not dared to commit itself to the
savage ocean" (Naiden, p. io6).
528. Inhabitable.The context clearly requiresthe negative meaning of the
word, a common usage after I400.

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I46 ScientificPoems
ThreeRenaissance
533-5. More clear is Naiden's rendering: "The mind (as it were, a guest
in its ancestralheaven), when the body refused to endure the long labor of
circling the earth, swiftly found out the measure of the earth by using the
heavens" (p. io6).
539. portions. Degrees; compare the same usage in line 55i, andparte in
543, 55?0
540. lembe.In margin of MS: "lembum: is the arche or quarter of the
Orbe in the artificiallquadrantas heere: .
2

541. dioptra. In margin of MS: "a small pinnule to direct the sight ...
[illegible] apertayningto the quadrant." The Latin is dioptra;the earliest
English form recorded in the OED is diopter,in i6I3. The diopter is an
ancient form of theodolite, or instrumentfor taking angles; the pinnules are
two square metal plates with holes, attached to either end of the index of
the diopter, which serve as sights.
546. Seasforbidden.In margin of MS: "alluding to the fable of Calisto.
Ouid: Meta: z?." Jupiter, having ravished Callisto, an Arcadian nymph,
set her in the sky as the constellation of the Great Bear; but at Juno's request
Oceanus forbade her to dip beneath the waves (Metamorphoses, II, 409-5 z8).
551. Circle'sportions. In margin of MS: " aequinoctiall: by 36o: for each
quadrantof the circle contayned go: "
553. Circuit. In margin of MS: "62 multiplied by 360: produceth 22,320
miles the circumferenceof the Earthe."
554. ; partes. In margin of MS: "he calleth the diameterof a Circle here
but the 3 parte: which is [proportionate?]to the Circumferenceas 7 to 22:
that is 3 :"
56o. lett. Prevent.
571. Atome. In marginof MS: "Indiuiduallnot to be diuided; which hath
no partes, allso a moate in the sunne."
572. Gargesoan.In marginof MS: "Chagertion:Diog. laert.... [illegible]:
that is epicurus so called of the village of Attica where hee was boarne.
he helde two principles of all thing Atomvs & vacuum & since these two
are both infinite that there weare Infinite worldes allso: wherein hee ioyned
with leucippus & democritus. see his errorsand their confutationin pererius
phys." The reference to Diogenes Laertius is to De philosophorum vita, x,
which begins, " Epicurus Neoclis & Cherestratx filius, patria quidem
Atheniensis, pago uero Chagettiusex Philaidarumfamilia" (ed. cited: n.p.:
EuchariusAgrippinas, I 535, p. 602).
The reference to pereriusis to Benedictus Pererius Valentinus, probably
his de communibus omniumrerumnaturaliumprincipiis et affectionibus,libri
quindecimquiplurimum ad eosoctolibrosAristotelis,quidep4ysicoauditu
conferunt,
inscribuntur,intelligendos...(Rome, 1562, etc.). This work deals with the
varying opinions of the ancient philosophers concerning naturalprinciples.

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 De Sphaera,Book I I47
573. the globe whichearth & Sea diuide. The elements earth and water
constitute and hence "share" (diuide)the planet (globe)earth.
573-6. Naiden gives this note (p. I48, n. II): "I, 590-9I: deciescentenain
milia passum / atque iterum totidem.,totidemquein milia ducas is a bit difficult to
translate. Does in milia mean milies? Decies (io), centena(i02), iterum totidem
(103, presumably) indicate io to the sixth power. Does in milia imply Io to
the six thousandth power? If so, the dimensions of Buchanan's universe
are vast even by modern standards."
589. Earthe's globes & water both. The whole planet earth, composed of
the elements water and earth; compare line S73 and similar uses throughout.
591. These staires. Naiden calls these two stars "twins," and his note
(p. I49, n. I2) explains: "I, 6I5: aequali limite implies [that] Antares [the
brightest star in Scorpio; the Scorpion's heart] and Aldebaran [the principal
star in Taurus] are I 80 degrees apart, which is not exactly so. Even if they
were so situated, the phenomenon Buchanan asserts to happen would occur
only for observers at the equator."
599. Bounder-Circle. In margin of MS: "finitor: horizon: which seperateth
the visible halfe Spheare from that [invisible?]." Latin text has Finitor, i.e.,
one who sets bounds, a surveyor; Finitor circulus is found in Lucretius
(ix, 496) for horizon. The OED gives bounder-markand bounder-stoneas
combined forms of bounder,meaning a limit or boundary (probably a corrup-
tion of boundure);compare boundin line 478.
617. Taurail. The Taurus mountains in Turkey.
6i8. those. In margin of MS: "Caucasis."
621. heede. Observe, see; the subject of this verb is beames.
635-7. "Since the earth is a very small part of the sun in size, and the
sun but a portion of its cycle, and that in turn is a small portion of the
star-bearing heaven" (Naiden, p. io8).
643. midland seas. In margin of MS: "Now the leuant [i.e., the eastern
part of the Mediterranean]."
644. Straytes of Hercules. In margin of MS: "Now of Gibralter."
647. Hircania. The land of the Hyrcani in Asia, between Media, Parthia,
and the Caspian Sea.
661-2. ". . . by deceit, by fire and poison, issues are settled, and mortal
affairs seethe with trembling tumult" (Naiden, p. io8).

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 APPENDIX

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 Charles Cotton, "An Essay upon Buchanan's First Book de Sphera.
Never perfected," from Poems On severalOccasions(London, I689), pp.
592-4.

How various are the World's great parts I sing,

And by what League the jarring Seeds of things
Agree in one, the Causes Motion breed
Why Darkness Light, and Coldness Heat succeed,
And why the Suns, and the Moonshorned Light S
Suffer Eclipses of o're-shading Night.
Thou who the Temples,wall'd with sacred Light
(Impenetrable to our weaker sight)
Inhabit'st, holy Father of the Skies,
Propitious be to this bold Enterprize, 10
Whilst to the World we do Thy Acts reveal,
And the immense Work of the Pole unseal;
That people ignorant of Truth, a Mind
(From Sloth, and long-liv'd Error so refin'd)
May lift to Heav'n, and whilst amaz'd, the Ball I 5
They so embraced with a Flaming Wall,
And wheeling times return in certain course,
May own the Mover, and admire his Force,
That props so great a Pile, that with the bit
Of his Eternal Law doth govern it; zo
And in His secret Council has decreed
It fit for Man's innumerable Need.
And thou, young MercuryTymolion,
Thy Father's, and thy Country'shopeful Son,
Go, my Companion, in thy tender Years, 25
Castalian Woods,and sacred Founts draw near,
Frequent that unknown Peace, and Nymphs soft Choires
Subject to loss; nor avaritious Fires.
The time will come (when time has giv'n thee Force)
That thou shalt bravely, with thy foaming Horse, 30
Rush into War, and gloriously advance
In dusty Fields thy Country's threatning Launce:
Till then, thy Syre, either shall Lombardsdeign
'5I

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1 52 ScientificPoems
ThreeRenaissance
T'orecome, wild Germans, and the Warlike Spain
By Force; or Conduct: Or with Gallickspoil, 35
Dazling the Sun,deck Calidonia's
Soyl.

Caeteradesunt.

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