The Hengwrt ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

[5b. THE PREAMBLE.]

With this chanon / dwelled haue I .vij. ȝere And of his science / am I neuere þe nere Al þat I hadde / haue I lost ther by And god woot/ so haue many mo þan I. Ther I was wont/ to be right fressh and gay Of clothing / and of good aray Line 725 Now may I were / an hose vpon myn heed And where my colour / was bothe fressh and reed Now is it wan / and of leden hewe who so it vse / sore shal him rewe Line 729 And of my swynk ./ ȝit blered is myn ye Lo which auauntage / it is to multiplye That slidynge science / hath me maad so bare That I haue no good / where þat euere I fare Line 733 And ȝit I am / endetted so ther by Of gold/ þat I haue borwed trewely That while I lyue / I shal it quite neuere Lat euery man / be war by me . for euere Line 737 What maner man / that casteth him ther to Ȝif he contynue / I holde his thrifte ydo ffor so helpe me god / þer-by shal he not wynne But empte his purs / and make his wittes thynne Line 741 And whan he / þurgh his madnesse and folie hath lost his owne good / þurgh Iupartie Than he exciteth / other men ther-to To lese her good / as him self hath do [Lichfield MS folio 174b] Line 745 ffor vn-to shrewes / ioye it is and ese To haue her felawes / in peyne and disese

[6-text p 553] Thus was I ones/ lerned of a clerk Of þat no charge / I wol speke of oure werk Line 749 ¶ Whan we be þere / as we shul exercise Oure eluyssh craft / we seme wonder wise Oure termes be / so clergeal and so queynte I blowe þe fire / til þat myn herte feynte Line 753 what shulde I telle / eche proporcion Of thinges whiche / þat we worchen on As of fyve or sixe vnces / it may wel be Of siluer / or of som oþer quantite Line 757 And besie me / to telle ȝow the names Of orpement/ brent bones . yren squames That in to pouder / grounde be ful smal And in an erthen pot / how it put is al Line 761 And salt yput in / and also papire Bifore thise pouders / that I speke of here And wel y-couered / with a lampe of glas And of moche other thing / what that ther was Line 765 And of the pot/ and glas englutyng That of the eyre / myght passe no thyng And of the esy fire / and smart also Whiche þat were made / and of the care and wo Line 769 That we had / in oure maters sublymynge And amalgamynge / and calcenynge Of quic siluer / y-cleped mercurie crude ffor alle oure sleightes/ we can not conclude Line 773 Oure orpement / and sublymed mercurie Oure grounde litarge / eke on the porphirie Of eche of þise / of vnces a certayn Not helpeth vs / oure labour is in vayn Line 777 Ne eke oure spirites / ascensioun Ne eke oure mater / that lyn al fixe adoun May in oure werching / no thing vs avayle ffor lost is al oure labour / and trauayle Line 781 And al the cost/ on twenty deuel way Is lost also / which we vpon it lay

[6-text p 554] Ther is also / many another thing [Lichfield MS folio 175a] That is to oure craft / apertenyng Line 785 Though I by ordre hem here / ne reherse can Be cause that I am / a lewed man Ȝit wol I telle hem / as þei come to mynde Though I ne can / sette hem in her kynde Line 789 As boole amoniak / verdegres boras And sondry vesselles / made of erthe and glas Oure vrinals / and oure descensories Violes crescellettes / and sublymatories Line 793 Concurbites / and alembikes eke And othere / dere ynogh a leke Not nedeth it / to rehersen hem alle Watres rubifiynge / and boles galle Line 797 Arsenyk . sal armoniak ./ and brymston And herbes / coude I telle eek manyon As egremoyne / valerian and lunarie And other suche / ȝif þat me lust tarie Line 801 Oure lampes brennynge / bothe nyght and day To bringe aboute / oure craft ȝif þat we may Oure fourneis eke / of calcinacion And of oure watres / albificacion Line 805 Vnslekked lyme ./ chalk . and gleyre of an ey Poudres diuerse / asshes dong pisse and cley Cered pokettes / sal petre and vitriole And diuerse fires / made of wode and cole Line 809 Sal tartre / alcaly and salt preparat And combust materes and coagulat Cley made with horses . or mannes heer and oyle Of tartre / alumglas . berme wort and argoyle Line 813 Reysalgar / and othere materes enbibynge And eke of oure materes / encorporinge And of oure siluer / citrinacion Oure fermenting and fermentacion Line 817 Oure Ingottes / testes and many mo I wol ȝow telle / as was me tauȝt also

[6-text p 555] The foure spirites / and the bodies seuene By ordre as I haue herd / my lord neuene Line 821 The first spirit / quik siluer called is [Lichfield MS folio 175b] The secunde orpement / the thridde ywis Sal armoniak / and the fourthe brymston The bodies seuene / eek loo hem here anoon Line 825 Sol gold is / and luna siluer we threpe Mars yren / Mecurie quik siluer we clepe Saturnus leed / a[nd] Iupiter is tyn And venus copir / by my fader kyn Line 829 This cursed craft / who so wol excercise He shal no good han / that may suffise ffor al the good / he spendeth ther aboute he lese shal / ther-of haue I no doute Line 833 Who so that lust / to outen his folie lat him come forth / and lerne multiplie And euery man / þat hath auȝt in his cofre lat him appere / and wexe a philosophre Line 837 Ascaunce that craft / is so light to lere Nay nay god woot / al be he monk or frere Preest or chanon / or eny other wight Though he sitte at his book/ boþe day and nyght Line 841 In lernyng of this eluissh nyce lore As is in veyne / and parde moche more Is to lerne a lewed man / this sotilte ffy spek not þer-of / for it wol not be Line 845 Al coude he lettrure / or coude he noon As in effecte / he shal fynde it al oon ffor bothe two / by my saluacion Concluden in multiplicacion Line 849 yliche wel / whan þei han al ydo This is to say / þe fayle bothe two Ȝit forȝat I to moche rehersaille Of watres corosif / and of lymaille Line 853 And of bodies / mollificacion And also / of her induracion

[6-text p 556] Oyles ablucion / and metal fusible To tellen al / wolde passen eny bible Line 857 That ougher is / werfore . as for the beste Of alle þise names / now wol I me reste ffor as I trowe / I haue ȝow told ynogh To reisen a feend / loke he neuere so rogh [Lichfield MS folio 176a] Line 861 A nay lat be / thy philosophres stoon Elixir cleped we / sechen faste echoon ffor had we him / than were we siker ynow But vn-to god / of heuene I make a vow Line 865 ffor al oure craft / whan we haue al y-do And al oure sleighte / he wol not come vs to he hath vs made / spende moche good ffor sorwe of which / almost wexe wood Line 869 But that good hope / crepeth in oure herte Supposinge euere / thogh we sore smerte To be releued / by him afterward Supposing and hope / is sharp and hard Line 873 I warne ȝow wel / it is to seken euere That future temps / hath made men disseuere In trust ther of / from al þat euere þei hadde ȝit of that art / þei coude not wexe sadde Line 877 ffor vn to hem / it is a bitter swete So semeth it / for ne had þei but a shete which þei myghte / wrappe hem in a nyght And a bak to walken in / by day light Line 881 They wolde hem selle / and spenden on the craft They can not stinte / til no thing be laft And euere more / where þat euere þei goon Men may hem knowe / by smel of brimstoon Line 885 ffor al the world / þei stynken as a goot he[r] sauour is / so rammyssh and so hoot That though a man / from hem a myle be The sauour wol infecten him trusteth me Line 889 Loo þus bi smellyng / and thred bare aray Ȝif that men liste / this folk þei knowe may

[6-text p 557] And ȝif a man / wol aske hem priuely Why þei be clothed / so vntriftily Line 893 Right anon þei wol / rownen in his ere And sey / ȝif þei aspied were Men wolde hem sleen / bicause of her science Loo thus þis folk / betrayen innocence Line 897 Passe ouer þis / I go my tale vn to Er þat þe pot / be on þe fire ydo Of metalles /· with a certeyn quantite Line 900 My lord hem tempreth / and no man but he [Lichfield MS folio 176b] Now he is gon / I dar say boldely ffor as men sayn / he can do craftily Algate I woot wel / he hath such a name And ȝit ful ofte / he renneth in the blame Line 905 And wete how / ful ofte it happeth so The pot to-breketh / and farewel al is go Thise metals ben / of so greet violence Oure walles may not / make hem resistence Line 909 Bu[t] ȝif they be wrouȝt/ of lyme and stoon They percen so / and thurgh the wal þei goon And somme of hem / sinken in to the grounde Thus haue we lost / be tymes many a pounde Line 913 And somme are scatered / al the floor aboute Somme lepen in to þe roof / withoute doute Though that þe feend / nat in oure sight him shewe I trowe þat he / be with vs. þat shrewe Line 917 In helle wher he is / lord and sire Ne is ther no more wo / ne anger ne ire ¶ Whan that oure pot is broken / as I haue sayd Euery men chit / and halt him euele payd Line 921 Somme seide it was long on the fire makyng Somme seide nay / it was long on the blowyng Than was I ferd / for þat was myn office Strawe quod the thride / ȝe be lewed and nyce Line 925 It was not tempred / as it ouȝt be Nay quod the ferthe / stinte and herkene me

[6-text p 558] By cause oure fire / was not made of beech That is the cause / noon other so theech Line 929 I can not telle / wher on it is along But wel I woot / greet strif is vs among What quod my lord / ther is no more to done Of thise periles / I wol be war eft sone Line 933 I am right siker / þat the pot was crased Be as be may / be ȝe no thing amazed As vsage is / lat swepe the floor as swithe Plucke vp ȝowre herte / and be ȝe glad and blithe Line 937 The mollok on an heep / yswopen is And on the flore / cast a canevas And al this mollok / in sive ythrowe [Lichfield MS folio 177a] And sifted and y-plucked / many a throwe Line 941 Parde quod oon / somwhat of oure metall Yit is ther here / þogh we haue not all And thogh this thing / mishapped hath now Anoþer tyme / it may be wel ynow Line 945 Vs muste putte / oure good in auenture A marchant parde / may nat ay endure; Trusteth me wel / in his prosperite Somtyme his good / is drowned in þe see Line 949 And somtyme cometh it sauf / vn-to the londe Pees quod my lord / þe nexte tyme I wol fonde To bringe oure craft / al in another plyte And but I do sires / lat me haue the wyte Line 953 Ther was defaute / in somwhat wel I woot And othere seide / the fire was ouerhoot But be it hoot or coold / I dar wel say this That we conclude / eueremore amis Line 957 We failen of that / which we wolde haue And in oure madnesse / eueremore we raue And whan we been / to-geder euerychon Euery man semeth / as wys as salomon Line 961 But al thing / which þat semeth golde Is nat gold / as I haue herd tolde

[6-text p 559] Ne euery appel / that is fayre at eye Ne is not good / what so men clappe or seye Line 965 Right so loo fareth it / amonges vs He that semeth / the wisest by Ihesus Is moost fool / whan it cometh to the preef And he that semeth trewest / is þe moste þeef Line 969 That shull ye knowe / er þat I fro yow wende By that I of my tale / haue made an ende [[No break in the MS.]]