A Dissertation on the Philosophy of Aristotle

In the immense depths of all-prolific light,
Forever vigorous and forever bright.
See Plato next stand in the rank of wisdom,
Whose godlike works demand unbounded praise;
Who rose sublime to Truth's immortal plain,
And scorned dull Body and her dark domain.
To GOOD ITSELF he soared with eager flight,
Until boundless beauty met his piercing sight.
See him, with sublime elegance, unfold
Whatever was known to divine men of old;
Yet only a few can find the secret sense
And wondrous depth of his capacious mind.
Next, ARISTOTLE claims our just applause,
Who thought itself to be confined by logical laws;
Who teaches, by gradual steps, how to soar
And explore the bright world of intellect;
Whose piercing genius, with the view of a lynx,
Looked through all the ample realms of Science,
Saw to what dazzling summits ¹ they extend,
And what the darksome barrier ² where they end.
To these philosophers succeeds a race
Of glorious souls adorned with every grace;
All divine men, of ancient Wisdom's train,
And justly called by some a golden chain.
See, as the leader of the noble band,
The greatly wise and good PLOTINUS stand.
Sublime genius! While bound in mortal ties,
Your soul had frequent commerce with the skies;
And often you loosened the lethargic folds
By which the indignant mind holds dark matter.

¹ ¹ Viz., the divine causes and principles of things, which Aristotle calls τα εφ' φυσει φανερωτατα οντων, "things naturally the most bright and manifest of all." And Theophrastus, in the fragment of his Metaphysics, calls them αρχαι (archai), or "summits."
² ² Viz., Matter.